The Rest Is Classified Episode 130: How Russia Made Trump – Putin Hacks The 2016 Election (Ep 1) Release Date: February 23, 2026
Hosts: David McCloskey & Gordon Corera

Overview of Episode

This episode launches a multi-part exploration into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, focusing on the concept of "active measures"—the toolkit of political warfare, disinformation, and influence operations historically wielded by Russian intelligence. Former CIA analyst and spy novelist David McCloskey and veteran security correspondent Gordon Corera delve into the evolution of Russian espionage, the 2016 election's unique context, Vladimir Putin's worldview, and how decades-old tactics have been supercharged by new technology.

Main Theme:
How Russian intelligence’s tradition of active measures set the stage for unprecedented influence on American politics in 2016, challenging U.S. institutions and shifting the trajectory of global power rivalries.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: The 2016 Election and Russian Interference

• Introduction to Active Measures
  • The 2016 election interference is positioned not merely as a story of hacking, but as a classic Russian intelligence operation—an “active measure”—aimed at influencing politics and sewing chaos.
  • As McCloskey notes: "This is a story, really a spy story that shaped the politics of that really tumultuous year in American democracy." [01:36]
• Fact vs. Hype
  • The hosts stress a fact-based, nonpartisan approach, focusing on espionage rather than political debate:
    "We are going to look at the intelligence story. We're going to focus on the espionage here. And at its heart is a Russian intelligence operation, a Russian active measure...” [01:59]

Defining ‘Active Measures’—Russia’s Political Warfare

• Russian vs. Western Espionage
  • Traditional Western espionage: collecting secrets and covert action (like CIA’s 1953 Iran coup).
  • Russian ‘active measures’: broader, aiming to “create division within an adversary country or between allies to weaken them.” Includes spreading disinformation, influencing elections, and sewing discord with real and forged information. [10:12]
    • Memorable quote:
      "A retired KGB general by the name of Oleg Kalugin... said that this type of subversion has long been the, quote, heart and soul of Russian intelligence." – McCloskey [10:47]
• Historic Examples
  • Disinformation campaigns from the Cold War—accusing the CIA of JFK’s assassination, sowing racial tension, and Operation Denver (AIDS virus origin) [12:41; 16:37].
    • "In the 1980s... the Soviet Union spent $3 billion... on active measures. It was that intrinsic to the idea." – Corera [11:50]
    • "Operation Denver... the idea that secret US military research at Fort Detrick was behind... AIDS... by 1987, over 40 countries are reporting this claim. But it’s taken four years to get it spread." – Corera [16:39]

The Russian Tradition and Modern Adaptation

• Evolution with Technology
  • Transition from slow, analog operations to digital rapidity:
    "That 40-year stretch from the KGB initially planting the story to it really catching fire is no longer... the landscape... social media allow these kind of claims to spread, go viral much more quickly and effectively..." – McCloskey [17:59]
• Precedents for Election Interference
  • Soviet/KGB efforts to influence Nixon, Reagan elections [18:53]
  • New technology (internet/social media) and Putin’s ascent created unprecedented opportunities for active measures [19:36]

The Putin Mindset: Paranoia, Resentment, and Retaliation

• Putin’s View of the West
  • Putin and his KGB/FSB peers interpreted U.S. support for "color revolutions" (e.g., in Ukraine, Georgia) as Western active measures [24:36].
  • Specific personal resentment toward Hillary Clinton as someone who “set the tone” for protest against Putin’s regime [28:32]:
    • "She gave the signal. There's kind of two big points here. One of them is Putin believes he has been the target of an ongoing series of U.S. active measures. And two, he sees Hillary Clinton as being to some degree the mastermind of those active measures.” – McCloskey [28:43]
• Escalating Confrontation
  • Putin becomes increasingly nationalistic and adversarial as of 2012, leaning into “gray zone” activities and information warfare [30:16].

Russian Paranoia in Action

• Panama Papers and Snowden
  • Putin read the 2016 Panama Papers leak as a U.S. intelligence operation:
    "He says officials and state agencies in the United States are behind all this. Right. The Americans, Putin says, are trying to weaken Russia from within..." – McCloskey [34:13]
  • The Snowden disclosures fueled Russian fears that the Internet itself is a U.S.-controlled tool for subversion [35:29].
• Ukraine as Testing Ground
  • Russia allowed active measures to “trial” at home and in Ukraine (e.g., leaking Victoria Nuland’s call to embarrass the U.S. and drive wedges among allies) [39:30].

Mirror Imaging, Intelligence Culture, and Complacency

• Misunderstanding and Underestimation by the West
  • U.S. intelligence’s tradition is ill-suited to recognize and counter such campaigns:
    "We don't have a long tradition of active measures in this country. I think we're actually quite bad at information operations. It's not ingrained..." – McCloskey [38:20]
  • Both U.S. and Russia view (and misunderstand) each other’s intelligence culture via their own frameworks, often missing the true scope and intent of operations [38:44].
  • Early warnings in 2015 of planned Russian “active measures” failed to trigger a strong response—seen as vague, non-actionable, and unlikely to succeed [46:18]:
    • "There was a bit of complacency about, well, the Russians might try and do this kind of thing, but it never really has much impact, doesn't work, won't sway anything." – Corera [47:06]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Lens of the Series

  • "This is the Rest Is Classified lens on the 2016 election. And this is a story, really a spy story that shaped the politics of that really tumultuous year in American democracy." – McCloskey [01:36]

• On Active Measures

  • "A retired KGB general by the name of Oleg Kalugin... said that this type of subversion has long been the, quote, heart and soul of Russian intelligence." – McCloskey [10:47]
  • "In 1980, the estimate was that the Soviet Union spent $3 billion... on active measures. It was that intrinsic to the idea." – Corera [11:50]

• On the 2016 Hack’s Consequence

  • "It's so consequential is we're still seeing the impact of it today. It has been almost 10 years... the dialogue around a deep state, the Russia hoax, Russia gate, all these terms... originate in this 2016 operation." – McCloskey [03:48]

• On Putin’s Motivations

  • "He sees Hillary Clinton as being to some degree the mastermind of those active measures." – McCloskey [28:43]

• On the U.S. Response

  • "The complacency point was a big one because whether it was a failure of imagination, an intelligence failure, we just didn't, we didn't see this coming." – McCloskey [47:23]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Summary | |-----------|--------------| | 00:24–03:10 | Show intro; framing the central controversy (Russian interference & Trump) | | 07:55–11:50 | Explanation and historical roots of “active measures”; KGB doctrine | | 12:41–18:53 | Cold War disinformation operations; mixing truth with forgery; info-laundering | | 19:36–21:13 | Tech revolution in espionage; Putin’s arrival; roots of paranoia | | 24:36–30:16 | Putin’s post-2011 mindset, color revolutions, animosity toward Hillary Clinton | | 32:38–35:29 | Panama Papers, Snowden, and escalation of Russian paranoia | | 39:30–41:57 | Ukraine as a laboratory for active measures; Nuland call leak explained | | 41:57–46:26 | Early U.S. diplomatic warnings; failures in intelligence culture and comprehension | | 47:06–48:23 | Complacency, intelligence failures, and upcoming focus on how the operation unfolded |

Episode Flow & Tone

The conversation is energetic, insightful, and laced with dry wit and banter between the two hosts, balancing deep historical knowledge with vivid storytelling and critical analysis. The tone is engaging and accessible, directed both at intelligence novices and curious true crime/espionage aficionados.

Next Episode Preview

The stage is set for an audacious Russian active measure targeting American democracy. In the next episode, the podcast promises to reveal how the operation was unleashed, its methods, and its impact—beginning to unravel the mechanics behind the interference that changed the West.

Listen for:

• Deep dives into Russian intelligence culture
• Behind-the-scenes stories and historic parallels
• An expert’s view on why the U.S. was unprepared for digital political warfare

“Both sides... will have a very hard time grappling with what they're dealing with because of that mirror imaging.” – McCloskey [38:20]

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