Chinese and Russian spies are often listening in on private conversations Donald Trump has on one of his three iPhones, and the president, despite being told by aides his cell phone calls are not secure, continues to use the devices, according to several current and former aides who spoke off the record with The New York Times.
China is reportedly tracking people Trump speaks with in hopes of using them to influence the president and U.S. policy and has identified Stephen Schwartzman and Steve Wynn as frequent contacts. Both Wynn, the former Las Vegas casino magnate, and Schwarzman, the Blackstone Group CEO, have ties to China.
The plan is to "feed arguments to the friends of the Trump friends," and "that those people will pass on what they are hearing, and that Beijing's views will eventually be delivered to the president by trusted voices," per the Times.
One official told the news outlet the Chinese were pushing for Trump's friends to persuade the president to sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping as often as possible since Trump clearly places value on personal relationships and since more seems to get accomplished during one-on-one sit downs.
A spokeswoman for Schwartzman said he "has been happy to serve as an intermediary on certain critical matters between the two countries at the request of both heads of state."
Russia's aim is simply to keep tabs on Trump.
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