Illustration by author
Follow the chain: Donald to Melania to Melania’s father to their Russian handler
How did every investigation from Robert Mueller to the Durham Report (1) miss the obvious? Melania Trump is a Russian asset.
Any information that Donald Trump wanted Vladimir Putin to know he merely had to pass along to his wife, who in turn passed it along to her father – a former communist party member in their home country of Slovenia – who shared the information with a Russian handler.
Who is Melania Trump?
Melania Knavs was born in 1970, when her home country of Slovenia was part of communist Yugoslavia. Viktor Knavs, Melania’s father, managed a state-run car and motorcycle dealership. He was among the 5% of the Slovenian population to have membership in the communist party. His position and connections enabled the family to move from Sevnica to the capital of Ljubljana, which allowed his daughters to attend the best schools. Melania’s mother, Amalija, was a clothing designer, and Melania and her older sister, Ines, modeled the clothes she designed. After high school graduation, Melania pursued a career in modeling in Milan and Paris and changed her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss.
Was Melania a honeypot placed to ensnare Trump?
Did the Russians dangle the beautiful Melania Knauss before Donald Trump in an effort to entangle him? Or did the Russians approach Melania after she hooked up with “the Donald”? Either is plausible. Knowing Trump’s affinity to Eastern European women, the Russians probably paraded a slew of beauties before Trump after his marriage to Marla Maples crumbled, hoping to ensnare the real estate mogul who entertained political ambitions. If Melania was not originally a Russian plant, without a doubt, the Russians reached out to her when her relationship with Trump became public.
Melania and the Russians
Before Donald Trump became president, eyes were not watching Melania closely. She could have easily met with a Russian handler. However, as the 2016 presidential campaign ramped up, more care would have been needed. Eyes would have been on Melania from the press and various political operatives. However, Melania’s family would not be as closely watched.
Setting up the Russian connection via chain migration
Donald Trump erected as many barriers to immigration as he could manage. He particularly criticized the practice of chain migration, wherein after one family’s member gains U.S. citizenship, other family members may apply for citizenship. The one notable exception was Trump’s in-laws. Melania became a U.S. citizen in 2006 after receiving an EB-1 or Einstein Visa – based on her extraordinary skills as a model! Her parents Viktor and Amalija became citizens in 2018.
Donald Trump: from dupe to Russian asset
The first time Donald Trump visited Russia was in 1987. However, the Soviets had been scouting him for years. A 2017 article in Politico by Luke Harding described how Trump was seduced by the KGB, who wanted to recruit foreigners with a potential future in politics, and Trump was one of those people. According to Harding, Donald Trump caught the attention of the KGB in 1977 when he married Czech model, Ivana Zelnickoova, whose father had a “functional relationship with the Czech secret police.” During those communist days, the Czech government shared information on the Trumps with their Soviet overlords. Following some meetings with Ambassador Yuri Dubinin, (that were orchestrated by the Russians), Trump received an invitation to visit Moscow on the pretense of building a hotel.
Since then, many Russia-related scandals have arisen.
- The so-called “pee tape” is from when Trump hosted the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow and asked two prostitutes to urinate on a bed that Barack Obama had slept on. Trump denies that this event ever occurred.
- Donald Trump Jr.’s 2008 confession that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.”
- Donald’s infamous callout to Russia during the press conference on July 27, 2016, to find Hillary Clinton’s 30,000 missing emails.
- The shameful incident in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018, when Trump stood next to Putin and declared that Putin told him he didn’t interfere in the 2016 election and Trump believed him despite contradictory evidence from the American intelligence community.
To Recap: Donald Trump’s collaboration with Russia most likely occurred via his wife Melania Knauss Trump, who was either recruited as an asset by the Russians before her marriage to Donald or afterwards. Since Melania’s father was a former communist official in Slovenia, she was an easy target to enlist, and Viktor Knavs would have never refused a request from the Russian government. Any communications between Trump and the Russians – or vice-versa – could easily go through his wife Melania, who merely had to pass the message to her sister, mother, or – most likely – her father. Melania’s family member could later meet with their Russian handler.
I invite any scholar of Russian history to contradict my theory that Melania is Donald Trump’s connection to the Russians.
(1) The Durham Report investigated Operation Crossfire Hurricane – the FBI’s attempt to show collusion between Trump and the Russians during the 2016 election.
Joyce O’Day 