{"id":1003,"date":"2018-05-12T12:27:22","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T16:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2018-05-12T12:27:22","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T16:27:22","slug":"opponents-of-iran-deal-hired-investigators-to-dig-up-dirt-on-obama-aide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1003","title":{"rendered":"Opponents of Iran Deal Hired Investigators to Dig Up Dirt on Obama Aide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Michael D. Shear<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Ronen Bergman May 7, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Benjamin J. Rhodes, a top national security aide to President Barack Obama, in 2016.<\/span>Credit<\/span>Stephen Crowley\/The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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WASHINGTON \u2014 For years, opponents of the nuclear deal with Iran have accused Benjamin J. Rhodes, a top national security aide to President Barack Obama, of scheming to sell the diplomatic agreement on false pretenses to the American people.<\/p>\n

Now, just as President Trump appears likely to announce his decision to withdraw from the deal, evidence has surfaced that the agreement\u2019s opponents engaged in a sophisticated effort to dig up dirt on Mr. Rhodes and his family that continued well after the Obama administration left office.<\/p>\n

A detailed report about Mr. Rhodes, compiled by Black Cube, a private investigations firm established by former intelligence analysts from the Israel Defense Forces, contains pictures of his apartment in Washington, telephone numbers and email addresses of members of his family, as well as unsubstantiated allegations of personal and ethical transgressions.<\/p>\n

In a separate case in 2017, the same firm\u00a0was hired to gather dirt<\/a>\u00a0on women accusing Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul, of multiple instances of sexual misconduct.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It is unclear who hired Black Cube to prepare the report on Mr. Rhodes and a similar report on Colin Kahl, the national security adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., which were obtained by The New York Times from a source with knowledge of their provenance.<\/p>\n

The Guardian, which\u00a0first published the existence of the reports<\/a>\u00a0on Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Kahl, said aides to Mr. Trump hired the firm, but there is no evidence in the documents that indicate any connection to anyone in Mr. Trump\u2019s administration. A spokesman for the company vehemently denied any connection to the president.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack Cube has no relation whatsoever to the Trump administration, to Trump aides, to anyone close to the administration or to the Iran nuclear deal,\u201d said Ido Minkowski, the company\u2019s spokesman. \u201cAnyone who claims otherwise is misleading their readers and viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

One person with knowledge of the reports suggested that the company had been hired by a commercial client with an interest in opposing the nuclear deal.<\/p>\n

The reports appear to be aimed at undermining public support for the agreement by finding ways to discredit Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Kahl, who have been staunch advocates of the deal on social media and in television appearances. In an interview on Monday, Mr. Rhodes said he was surprised that ferocious criticism directed at him continued after he left government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI never imagined that upon leaving government, that not only would that information campaign continue, but that it would be supplemented by investigations into me and my family by shadowy international operations, involving foreign entities,\u201d Mr. Rhodes said.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0deal to curtail Iran\u2019s nuclear weapons program<\/a>\u00a0was signed by the United States, Iran and several European countries in 2015. Its critics, including Mr. Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, have said it does nothing to curtail the danger posed by Iran and will not curtail Iran\u2019s ability to develop nuclear weapons. The president said Monday that\u00a0he will announce on Tuesday<\/a>\u00a0whether he will formally withdraw the United States from the deal, as he has repeatedly signaled he would.<\/p>\n

While there is no evidence directly linking Trump officials to the preparation of the reports, several current or former members of the Trump White House have repeatedly attacked Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Kahl for their support of the Iran agreement.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Gorka, a Trump supporter who served briefly in the White House as an adviser, has repeatedly attacked both men on social media and in conservative news outlets, accusing Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Kahl of working to undermine Mr. Trump and defend the Iran deal from its critics.<\/p>\n

Current and former Trump administration officials have also targeted John Kerry, the former secretary of state who negotiated the Iran deal for the United States. Even Mr. Trump himself\u00a0said in a Twitter post<\/a>\u00a0on Monday that recent efforts by Mr. Kerry to save the deal amounted to \u201cpossibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n