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According to Ynetnews.com:

Black Cube, notorious for its work for disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, reportedly hired by Trump administration officials to spy on 2 Obama aides involved with Iran nuclear deal; Black Cube investigators collected information about their family members, make of cars, New Yorker report divulges.

Source story by the New Yorker, which does not seem to imply to the same extent as the quote above that the firm was working for the Trump administration.

Quote from NBC News:

The same source said the Iran operation was launched just days after President Donald Trump visited Israel in May 2017. The source said he was told that the work was being carried out “for Trump,” but there is no evidence that the Trump administration had anything to do with the operation, which may have been commissioned by an outside group or agency with no connection to the administration.

Are the details in the first quote accurate? Is there evidence that the Trump administration hired this Israeli private security firm to spy on Obama aides involved with the Iran Nuclear deal?

JJJ
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    'Reportedly' is a word used when even the person writing the article can't support their claim. – DJClayworth Feb 28 '19 at 21:14
  • @DJClayworth hence my question. By the way, I think many outlets picked it up but I haven't found one that confirms it definitively. – JJJ Feb 28 '19 at 21:34
  • I never heard of that site, is this claim circulated on other places as well? – Mad Scientist Feb 28 '19 at 21:37
  • @MadScientist too long for comment, added into the answer; will format better in a bit. – JJJ Feb 28 '19 at 21:51
  • Ynetnews hasn't sourced this themselves; they are just saying that a report in the New Yorker makes this claim. Actually, the [New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/israeli-operatives-who-aided-harvey-weinstein-collected-information-on-former-obama-administration-officials) reported that the firm hired to discredit those Obama aides was Black Cube, but not that Trump admin officials hired them; the New Yorker says that [the Observer](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/may/05/trump-team-hired-spy-firm-dirty-ops-iran-nuclear-deal) reported that it was Trump admin officials. – ff524 Feb 28 '19 at 21:51
  • So the New Yorker is the source of the claim that Black Cube was hired to spy on Obama aides (doesn't specify who hired them); the Observer is the source of the claim that Trump aides hired a spy firm to spy on Obama aides (doesn't specify what spy firm). – ff524 Feb 28 '19 at 21:55
  • @ff524 but their claim is a bit bolder and it may be that an answer can elaborate on whether it's correct or not (with the evidence there is today). – JJJ Feb 28 '19 at 22:04
  • I'm not seeing the issue here. "accused its members of mounting a coördinated effort “to undermine President Trump’s foreign policy” through organized attacks in the press against Trump and his advisers. " Isn't that called 'politics'? Are we intended to believe the Donald Trump and the Republican Party never mounted a coordinated campaign to undermine President Obama's policy? – DJClayworth Mar 01 '19 at 15:08
  • @DJClayworth the question asks about whether the Trump administration did actually hire this Black Cube firm. Whether it's politics or not is not the question (here). As for the New Yorker article, I don't think that answer the question (if it does feel free to post it as an answer). Answers could also be build on subsequent reporting or testimony before congress (just two examples). – JJJ Mar 01 '19 at 15:28
  • "Black Cube investigators collected information about their family members, make of cars, New Yorker report divulges." This is implausible because the "Trump administration" can obtain this information about national security officials without hiring anybody; the Office of Personnel Management and.other agencies within the executive branch would likely have this information available as part of security clearance investigations – Joe Apr 01 '19 at 22:15

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