The director of the CIA reportedly used photos of dead ducks to urge Donald Trump to take on a tougher stance with Russia, following a chemical nerve agent attack in Britain against former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018.
In response to the poisoning in Salisbury, England, British officials urged the White House to expel suspected Russian operatives responsible for the attack. President Trump, however, remained sceptical. He doubted poisoning as a legitimate tactic used in spy games.
Some White House officials told the New York Times said they thought the president had some sympathy for the Russian government coming after someone they viewed as disloyal or a traitor.
Then-deputy CIA director Gina Haspel was tasked with persuaded the president to take the “strong option” of expelling 60 Russian diplomats from the United States.
To convince the president, Ms Haspel tried to show evidence that Mr Skripal and his daughter were not the only victims of Russia’s Novichok chemical poisoning.
She reportedly showed photos of young children who were hospitalised after being exposed to the Novichok nerve agent, the same one that poisoned the Skripals.
She also showed photos of dead ducks that British officials said were killed by the “sloppy” work of Russian operatives during the poison attack, the New York Times reported.
It seemed to work. Mr Trump was reportedly fixated on photos of the sick children and dead ducks, which prompted him to take on the tougher stance of expelling 60 Russian diplomats.
