in his speech he made no direct reference to us president—elect donald trump, but warned against a trade war with america, saying there would be no winners. now on bbc news, panorama. was donald trump helped into the white house by vladimir putin? this is clearly the most serious blow to our democratic system since water gate. a spy on the run, honey traps, cyberwar. the kremlin has form. russia do this like bread and butter. trump denies everything and blames the cia. that is something that nazi germany would do and did do. we ask what does the trump/putin bromance mean for us. it is not going to be business as usual. and what happens if the two leaders fall out. they're behind us. in 2013, donald trump's biggest

worry was his golfing handicap. hello sir. i was making a film about him and the murky characters he had been doing business with. i'm playing in a big tournament. i met him in bedminster in newjersey. no russian spies here. i have been asking as many provocative questions as possible. i know. i have seen him. he is very provocative. do you want to take me for a spin on the golf buggy. experience the wall of trump charm. i'm glad you came out. i appreciate you taking the time. i'm just worried about the driver! bedminster projects the image of donald trump that millions have

bought into — the millionaire with the midas touch. they are gold. they're gold plated. 24 carat gold. bbc health and safety will be watching. since then, my golfing partner has gone up in the world. and found a new buddie. if he says great things about me i will say great things about him. vladimir putin said donald trump is a genius. why does trump seem to admire putin so much? under his watch countries have been invaded, a passengerjet shot out of the sky and too many of his critics have ended up dead. but for donald trump, he is full of compliments. translation: trump is very bright and talented.

how can we not welcome that. michael d'antonio is fascinated by what trump and putin might have in common. he lives in a world that he has described as a comic book. he has said that i am the star of my own comic book and i'm the central character of it. he believes in the superficial extreme images of life. he believes he is superman? or batman? ortrumpman. yes or maybe he is a villain in a story. if you think about vladimir putin, he is also a comic book character. he is head of a country whose economy is half that of the state of california. and yet, on the world stage, he looms large, because he has huffed himself up and he is a strong man and donald admires strong men.

he admires the exertion of power and he admires the fact that putin doesn't seem inhibited about using it. in the past week the trump man and the vladiator have had to deal with a grenade lobbed into their adventures, by a former mi6 officer. you couldn't make it up. the dossier reportedly written by christopher steele claims moscow armed team trump with information about his opponent and says the russians have kompromat on trump. in english, we would call that blackmail. the dossier is unverified, trump denies everything and it furious it is out there. i think it was disgraceful. that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out. and that is something that

nazi germany would have done and did do. it is a disgrace. is the dossierfiction, fact or a bit of both. in the shadowy world of free lance intelligence, that is unknowable for now. in 2013 the trump—owned miss universe circus rolled into moscow. donald trump had his own reasons to be excited. he had tweeted. a meeting was reportedly set up, but it never happened. but the leaked dossier said a number of prostitutes were provided and hidden cameras recorded everything. malcolm nance used to be an officer in us intelligence and has studied

russian spy craft. most of the rooms are wired for sound, even if they're not wired, they have sophisticated enough collection systems to where they don't have to be in the room. the intelligence service would have been part of the analysis team that would have been watching him. to determine is donald trump or anyone on his staff someone we could turn into an agent who would work for russia. everything in that report fits with how russian intelligence works. that doesn't mean it is true. but putin has form for kompromat. back in 2000, mikhail kasyanov was putin's prime minister. they fell out. and mikhail kasyanov became an outspoken leader of the opposition. then last year, this video of the married man having sex with his assistant was broadcast on state tv.

mikhail kasyanov told us about the latest allegations. i'm almost sure special equipment was installed. there is no corroborating evidence for the kompromat and trump said he would never have fallen for it. i am careful i'm surrounded by body guards and i always tell them be careful, because in your hotel rooms, and no matter where you go, you're going to probably have cameras. does anyone believe that story? i'm also very much a germaphobe by the way. believe me. but kompromat is notjust about sex.

it can be about money. could the way he does business make him vulnerable to blackmail? he has always wanted to make it big in russia, since his first visit in the 805. but there a problem with business in russia today. most money in russia is connected to gangsterism. not all of it. but much of it and most of it. if you're doing business with any of the big business groups in moscow you might deal with people who were part of international crime syndicates. donald trump never got a hotel off the ground in moscow. but russian money did ends up in trump tower. meet felix sater, a russian/american gangster. before becoming a senior advisor to donald trump in new york he had

been to prison for stabbing a man in the face and convicted for his part in a $40 million mafia scam on wall street. sater escorted donald trump jrand ivanka around moscow in 2006. so why would trump want him as a partner? back in 2013, i asked trump about a property deal that he had did with felix sater‘s company, bayrock. why didn't you say to him, you're connected with the mafia, you're fired. first, we were not the developer. that was a licensing deal. your name is on it. i don't know. you're telling me things i don't know about. you tell me about felix sater. i know who he is. for a year, you stayed in bed with felix sater and he was connected with the mafia. again, john, maybe you're thick, but when you have a signed contract, you can't in is in countryjust break it and i hate to do this, but i have that big

group of people waiting. one last question please. i have to leave. felix sater told us he is not and never has been connected with the mob. but these kind of associations leave trump vulnerable to being compromised. the leaked dossier doesn't just suggest that trump could be blackmailed. it detailed election campaign hacking, and we know this much is now true. i'm in washington to see the evidence for myself. welcome. dmitri's company were the first to identify hostile code in the computers of hillary clinton. we have never seen an operation

like this conducted in the united states. he classified foreign agents using animal names. chinese are pandas, russian spies are bears. april 2016, fancy bear intrudes into the dnc. fancy bear is? russian military intelligence. how was crowdstrike so sure the cyber spies were russian? what is their proof? this is the actual piece of code deployed in the dnc. this is indications of internet connections that it opens up to connect to the mothership. wow, so this is your cyber equivalent of the burglar‘s footsteps in the snow? yes, looking at this evidence and how this code was written and how we have seen in previous attacks, looking at the totality of that evidence in the course

of investigation, it gave us confidence that this was indeed russian intelligence. what is so extraordinary is that during the campaign, trump egged on the russian hackers. russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e—mails that are missing. i think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. let's see if that happens, that would be nice. there is no doubt that russia was listening. welcome to the citadel of cyber war. the people who directed the hacking of american democracy are spread across moscow. but at least some of the prime suspects are based here, the headquarters of the the fsb, which is the new name for the kgb. its former boss — vladimir putin.

the party line in moscow is emphatically that russia did not hack the election. this man is a russian senator. a lot of people in the united states, including people in the cia, who say that russia hacked american democracy? as faras i read i, it does not point anywhere. so russia did not hack american democracy, full stop. russia did not hack american democracy, full stop. but look at this press conference last month. is that is wink from putin that he did have a hand in trump's victory? translation: no—one believed he would win, except for us. alexander dugin has been described as vladimir putin's philosopher

king. he also has his own pro—kremlin tv show. this shows that america is on brink of a revolution. was the election of donald trump to do with vladimir putin? you overestimate our capabilities. we are happy that american people has made such a choice, but i am absolutely sure that our influence on the free choice of american people was strictly zero. absolutely zero? zero. some in team trump go along with this. they deny the russian hacking and blame us intelligence for spreading the story. the cia lied to us about benghazi. they lied about vietnam.

they lied to us about the kennedy assassination. they're spies, spies lie. it is in their interest to build up this bogeyman of russia to legitimise donald trump's presidency. to delegitimise donald trump's presidency. for an incoming president to favour russia, the old cold war enemy over the cia, is unprecedented. one man who used to run the agency thinks trump may be naive. it could be that he is playing into their hands. there is the term of useful idiot that the russians throw around for someone who goes along with what they are trying to accomplish without thinking very much about it. whether or not there is any truth to the dossier, the former spy master has a chilling warning for the new president. they may have something that they've learned through cyber espionage

that is detrimental to him, his business dealings or his personal standing. i would think it prudent to assume that is the case. no computer is safe. i don't care what they say, no computer is safe. since his surprise election victory, trump's been picking his cabinet. some have been critical of russia, but others have had curiously close ties to the kremlin. number one, trump's choice for secretary of state, rex tillerson. as head of exxon he struck huge oil deals in russia and received the order of friendship from putin in 2013. number two, retired general michael flynn, the new national security adviser. he got paid for speaking at a russia today event and sat next to putin.

flynn has denied taking kremlin cash for his appearance. but a russia today source told panorama that a typical fee would be tens of thousands of dollars. i didn't take any money from russia. well then who paid you? my speaker's bureau. ask them. number three, steve bannon, trump's new chief strategist and the former editor of the controversial right—wing website breitba rt. he has sympathy with some of putin's ideology, especially the kremlin‘s line on how to fight isis. they have a twitter account up today about turning the united states into a river of blood and trust me, that is going to come to europe. on top of that, we're now, i believe, at the beginning stages of a global war against islamic fascism. here's that thought translated into trump speak. i would bomb the shit out of them.

0n syria, throughout the campaign, trump has more supportive of piutau's approach than 0bama's. but the problem with fighting isis the kremlin‘s way, in places like aleppo, is that you end up bombing civilians who have nothing to do with isis. putin's guru is delighted with trump's line on syria. he see it's as part of a new global movement. trump is realist. putin is realist. i think his election, it is sign of the choice, historical choice of american people in favour of realist attitude towards international relations instead of liberal or globalist. both trump and putin see themselves as strong leaders who put national interests above all. the man trump wanted

as our ambassador to the states has a handle on what's behind the new world order. so, why do people on the right admire vladimir putin? i think it's a question of people who believe in nation—state democracy have admiration for vladimir putin. what we've had is decades of our political leaders effectively trying to get rid of nation—state democracy. what you saw in 2016 was nation—state democracy making a comeback. is russia a democracy? not properly, no. is russia is a democracy? not a proper democracy as we understand, it no. not a proper democracy as we understand it, no. democracy is underfire in russia. since putin came to power more than 20 opposition figures and journalists have been killed. if you care about democracy this is an important place,

the kremlin is 100 yards away and it was here almost two years ago that boris nantsov was shot dead. he was the bravest and most outspoken of the russian opposition. people ask questions about vladimir putin's commitment to democracy. but please be careful and you could not teach us democracy because you trying to impose to every people, every state american system of values without asking, it is absolutely racist. you are racist. in russia the pro—kremlin camp doesn't like to be challenged. if you're critical of vladimir putin you may end up dead. if you, for example, if you are engaged in wikileaks, you can be murdered. julian assange is dead, is he? not, but...

so hold on a second, please tell me about boris nemtsov, he was murdered 100 yards from... by putin? he was critical of putin. can you tell me, can you list the number of american journalists who have died under 0bama. it's completely stupid kind of conversation. 0k. please, very nice to meet you, but i don't like to continue. so do you think mr trump will make the world a safer place? after he walked out of our interview, mr dugin posted a blog in which he accused me of making fake news. he called me a repulsive bastard, utter cretin and globalist cien. he called me a repulsive bastard, utter cretin and globalist swine. such is the new world order. in america you can hear the echo of russian politics. you are fake news.

i'd like to punch him in the face. get him out. i don't know if it would have gone well... i think democracy is in trouble. i think the example trump set in the way he conducted and ran his campaign, his use of open lies, fake news, the hint of violence, i think all of this was incredibly damaging to democracy. they'd be carried out on a stretcher folks. they'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks. what's interesting about trump is, one of the great comments of the whole us campaign was that you should take trump seriously but not literally. that comes right through that campaign. trump may have his reasons for playing nice with putin. here in ukraine, you can see why putin might want to get along with trump. after russia annexed crimea, part of ukraine, in 2014,

the west imposed sanctions on russia, which cost the country $160 billion and hurt putin too. but that didn't stop putin sending his ghost army into the east, soldiers disguised as volunteers. today, the war continues. how far is the front line from here? translation: the enemy's on two sides from us. they're close. sometimes very close. who's driving this war? translation: it's russia controlling them and they're russia's pawns. keep low, move fast. and we're moving because there's a bit of a firefight behind us. incoming, you can hear the crack. the young have deserted

the village of vodinoe, only the old remain. i asked this man what it's like living on the frontline. translation: my children will say russian fascists killed their ukrainian father. sometimes it's so frightening. two weeks ago, after artillery fire, my wife suffered a stroke. two years on, and nearly 10,000 dead. there's no sign to the end of fighting here in eastern ukraine. the fear is, with donald trump in the whitehouse, the prospects for peace are even further away than ever. does the donald give a damn?

i don't like what's happening with ukraine. that's really a problem that affects europe a lot more than us. they should be leading some of this charge. you wouldn't allow ukraine either? you wouldn't allow ukraine into nato? i would not care that much to be honest with you, whether it goes in or doesn't go in. i wouldn't care. russia denies they're the aggressor in ukraine. in 2014, i caught up with president putin in siberia and challenged him. do you regret the killings in the ukraine? translation: the main problem is that the authorities in kiev do not want a political dialogue with the east of their country. in moscow today the line remains, russia has done nothing wrong. there is no russian aggression. no agenda for a greater russia? no agenda for greater russia. we want to have strong and self—sufficient country. but there are no plans for any expansion of russia. will america change tack on ukraine?

this week trump has said in return for a nuclear weapons deal he might lift sanctions. trump has to be mindful of russia's very clear interests in ukraine and how their politics ultimately play out. i do think that there are some thorny issues regarding crimea, regarding ukraine that trump is going to have to work through with putin. they are within the sphere of influence of his country. they're on his borders. he has every right to have concerns about them and what we're doing in these regards. but if donald trump turns a blind eye to russian war mongering but if donald trump turns a blind eye to russian war mongering and lifts sanctions, the kremlin might see it as a green light to exert its power further west. i haven't been sleeping well since the invasion of crimea. i have since then begun to worry about what russia's aims are in europe.

and about the possibility of a nuclear clash or conventional clash of an incredibly dangerous kind in the baltic states in central europe and in ukraine. having trump in the white house doesn't make me feel better. even if the dossier is a pack of lies, it could change things. trump is sounding tougher on russia's actions in syria. it can't let it look like putin has a hold over him. do you honestly believe that hillary would be tougher on putin than me? does anybody in this room really believe that? if putin is blackmailing trump that's no basis for a stable relationship. if he's not, you still can't rule out a clash. they both seem like rather brittle personalities when it comes to being challenged. we've seen that in trump and we've certainly seen it in putin. so i think i would not want to see these two get into some kind

of a macho shootout. whatever the truth, trump's locked in a strange embrace with vladimir putin. an ally who could so easily become an adversary. if the bromance ends and president donald trump falls out with president putin then to put it mildly, that's not good. we face a prospect of a brand new cold war, colder than ever before. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: president 0bama reduces the sentence of former us soldier chelsea manning, jailed for leaking classified documents. britain's prime minister spells out her goals for brexit. the uk will leave the european single market, but seek new trade agreements and aim to control immigration. china's president defends globalisation, and insists there will be no winners in a trade war between washington and beijing.

and the president of gambia declares a state of emergency, just days before he is due to leave office. hello. president 0bama has commuted the sentence of chelsea manning,