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It is definitely still happening today. The most famous recent example would probably be Maria Butina[0], a Russian woman who infiltrated the National Rifle Ass
by bdw5204 3y ago
It is definitely still happening today. The most famous recent example would probably be Maria Butina[0], a Russian woman who infiltrated the National Rifle Association and the US Republican Party during the 2016 election cycle to influence US politics. She was arrested, convicted of federal crimes and eventually deported back to Russia where she is now a member of the Duma (Russia's Parliament) after previously working for RT.
There's also the Chinese spy Christine Fang[1] who allegedly had an association with Eric Swalwell, a Democratic US Representative from California and also allegedly had affairs with 2 mayors in the midwest.
It's a pretty safe assumption that other governments are also doing the same thing. They just haven't gotten caught yet.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Swalwell#Contact_with_suspected_Chinese_spy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Swalwell#Contact_with_sus...
- CPLX 3y agoThe most famous example is almost certainly Jeffrey Epstein, but that of course is just a conspiracy theory, until it isn't.
- retrac 3y agoIt's the original "honey pot". (That's where the term comes from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment_of_spies#Love,_honeypots,_and_recruitment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment_of_spies#Love,_hon... ) A Canadian MP was recently dating a Communist spy: https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-mp-suggests-he-was-victim-of-honey-trap-involving-chinese-spy-in-2021-election-1.6383995?cache=uhposhkob https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-mp-suggests-he-was-victim-...
- rsynnott 3y ago> and also allegedly had affairs with 2 mayors in the midwest. This feels like extremely low-end spying.
- jncfhnb 3y agoWhy? That sounds like nearly as good as it gets.
- rsynnott 3y agoI mean, midwestern mayors? You're not winning spy of the month with reports about mayors.
- jncfhnb 3y agoI think a rep and 2 mayors is pretty solid?
- rsynnott 3y agoOh, a rep, sure, absolutely. But I just don’t get why anyone would bother spying on mayors at all.
- Turing_Machine 3y agoWhat if you're an agent for $COUNTRY and $COUNTRY is planning a major investment in the city in question? Having dirt on the mayor could be quite useful.