CONTROVERSIAL US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has come under renewed scrutiny over his links to the Kremlin.
Opponents are convinced his relationships with Moscow and the Russian government run much deeper than has ever been willing to acknowledge.
And while they stop short of accusing him of being a Russian agent they fear he is seen as a "useful idiot" by Moscow's ruthless leaders who believe they could benefit from a Trump election win.
Useful idiot was a term used by the original Soviet leader Lenin and referred to those in the West who ignored mass murder and chose to support the great Communist project.
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And former CIA boss Michael Morell said he had "no doubt" Mr Putin viewed Mr Trump as an "unwitting agent".
He said the billionaire property magnate was just the sort of ‘asset’ the Kremlin would try to cultivate: he has a colossal ego; gives childlike responses to flattery; is massively overconfident in his own abilities and pathologically unwilling to admit to mistakes.
Mr Putin has described Mr Trump as a "colourful and talented" individual.
Mr Trump has appeared friendly with Russia while at the same time bitterly critical of Washington with echoes of the anti-Americanism the Kremlin propagates.
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Key themes are that America has no moral weight in the world and no claim to global leadership.
Asked about human rights, Mr Trump said America has its own ‘mess’ to worry about
Mr Trump has, by his own admission, deep business connections with Russia.
Numerous near-bankruptcies over the decades have led to poor relations with US banks who prefer to keep him at arms length.
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And while is assets have shrivelled his debts have risen sharply from £270m to £485m in the last year which suggests he may have borrowed heavily.
Trump-watchers believe the money came from Russia.
The Washington Post reported: "Since the 1980s Trump and his family members have made numerous trips to Moscow in search of business opportunities, and they have relied on Russian investors to buy their properties around the world."
Mr Trump’s son, Donald Jnr, boasted to a property industry conference in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets."
GETTYDonald Trump in pictures
Thu, August 11, 2016Donald Trump is an American businessman, television personality, politician and the Republican Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election.
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Republican presidential candidate Donald J.Trump addresses the audience during a campaign event
Russians helped finance construction projects in Toronto and, most controversially, the Trump SoHo condominium development in Manhattan which ended up in court when investors felt short-changed.
The lawsuit was settled before the hearing but court documents revealed infusions of cash from Russians who were ‘in favour with’ Vladimir Putin and the involvement of two Russians with questionable backgrounds.
A pro-Kremlin blogger put it like this: "Trump will smash America as we know it."
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