The US Congress is investigating the stay of former CIA operative Joseph Assad in Montenegro at the time of the alleged coup attempt last October in Montenegro, writes the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Asad is also in the focus of the trial that should begin in Montenegro.
In the indictment against 14 people, it is claimed that Assad, on behalf of the Democratic Front, requested help from the American private security agency for counterintelligence surveillance and the extraction of personnel during the election.
The first defendants are Russians Eduard Šišmakov and Vladimir Popov, whom the local prosecution claims are members of the Russian secret service.
The indictment also includes two DF leaders, Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević.
The WSJ writes that this plot is a sign that the old spy games of East vs. West are still present in Europe.
Current and former American and Russian officials privately admit that their operatives are active in the Balkans and in Montenegro in particular.
"Russian and Montenegrin officials claim that the Russian campaign against Montenegro joining NATO culminated in a coup attempt that was foiled at the last moment. Opponents of the government claim that it was a fake coup whose goal was to get citizens to vote for the ruling party," writes the WSJ.
Congressional officials told the WSJ they want to determine whether or not Assad was drawn into the alleged Russian conspiracy.
Russia denies that it supported any coup attempt.
US and allied officials say it makes no sense for the conspirators to use an outsider to help them get their team out of the country.
However, Montenegrin and American officials say it is possible that Russian operatives wanted to link the former CIA agent to the conspiracy, in order to hide Moscow's responsibility.
US and NATO officials say one of the reasons they believe the coup was planned is that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said his country's security services had found "irrefutable and material" evidence supporting the Montenegrin version and that he was cooperating with the investigation.
Brian Scott, a former CIA agent and director of the Patriot Defense Group, told the WSJ that his official had talked to Assad about a security job in Montenegro for a company linked to the PDG. Scott said he didn't know if the job involved a manpower pullout, adding that PDG quickly rejected the job because it didn't align with their mission to help American companies overseas.
Assad, who has not been charged, declined to speak to the WSJ.
His lawyer, Vincent Sitro, said that Asad was in Montenegro to help a friend and colleague who was leading the opposition's campaign.
Sitro said that Assad had nothing to do with the plot and denied that he was working as a spy for the Russians or anyone else.
Sitro confirmed that there was contact between Assad and the PDG.
He said Assad was cooperating with US authorities "to clear up misinformation coming out of Montenegro," but said he had been told his client was not under investigation.
The WSJ writes that the trial of two Russians, three members of the opposition and nine Serbs depends on the credibility of the prosecution's main witness Saša Sinđelić, who claims in a statement quoted in the indictment that he was recruited by the Russian intelligence service to overthrow the Montenegrin government.
Officials and investigators from the House Intelligence Committee contacted Assad and Scott this week to ask them questions.
"If the Americans are involved, we should investigate," said committee chairman Devin Nunes, Republican of California.
He was recently in Montenegro where he met with prosecutors regarding allegations of Russian involvement.
"This was an attempt by Russian interests to overthrow the pro-NATO government," he said.
The WSJ writes that Aron Shaviv led the campaign for the Democratic Front - which represented a "difficult challenge" for the DPS.
"Since Shaviv's videos mocked the authorities, he claims, he was followed and stopped by the Montenegrin police and security services," writes the WSJ. "Montenegro officials say there is no indication that Shaviv was followed by the military or security services."
Shaviv told the WSJ that he asked Assad to conduct a security assessment. Assad's lawyer said his client gave an assessment to Shaviv and then left on election day.
Montenegrin investigators and those from the US Congress claim that the timing of Assad's departure from the country is questionable.
In conversations with the WSJ, they questioned why a security adviser would abandon a client on Election Day, hours after the widely publicized arrest of alleged conspirators.
Shaviv said that the Montenegrin government was faced with defeat in the October elections and that it had promulgated "the lamest conspiracy theory ever devised."
Officials from both the Montenegrin authorities and the ruling party deny the allegations.
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