In May 2017, just one day after sacking then-FBI Director James Comey—who had been leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election—President Donald Trump welcomed two men into the Oval Office who, under any normal circumstances, would be considered adversaries: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. The meeting was closed to the press. But within days, The Washington Post revealed that Trump had disclosed classified information to his Russian guests. An anonymous source quoted by the paper claimed the president “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”
It was one of the most flagrant episodes of Trump’s first term—though far from the only one. Long before the so-called “Signalgate” affair, in which senior US officials accidentally added an editor from The Atlantic to a Signal chat about confidential matters, and before the appointment of figures like Tulsi Gabbard—who now heads National Intelligence under the current administration and has stirred renewed concern among allies—intelligence cooperation was already under scrutiny. The issue had become a staple of both media coverage and behind-the-scenes expert debate, and questions about Washington’s reliability were no longer confined to the corridors of power.
Historically, the United States has maintained deep and far-reaching ties with intelligence services across the globe. Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington has extended that cooperation to include Kyiv, regularly sharing sensitive intelligence. Yet its closest and most enduring intelligence partnership remains the one forged with Britain during the Second World War—a relationship that eventually evolved into the so-called “Five Eyes” alliance, which also includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Until 2010, when both Washington and London declassified documents outlining the alliance’s original agreement, the very existence of Five Eyes remained a well-guarded secret. Since then, a substantial trove of information has emerged, and in recent years, the alliance has even become the subject of several books. The extent of its internal integration became clearer following the revelations of Edward Snowden, the former CIA contractor whose leaks showed just how closely intertwined American and British intelligence had become. Though employed by the US, Snowden had access to thousands of British intelligence documents—many of which he went on to expose.
Allies or rivals?
Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, the future of the Five Eyes alliance has become the subject of more pointed—and anxious—debate than ever before. After Trump publicly suggested that Canada should become the United States’ 51st state, one of his closest advisers, Peter Navarro, reportedly floated the idea of ejecting Ottawa from the alliance altogether. Given the long-established intimacy and strategic depth of Five Eyes cooperation, such remarks—coupled with controversial appointments—have left many of America’s allies deeply unsettled.
“During Trump’s first administration, the Five Eyes relationship withstood the strain,” Richard Kerbaj, author of The Secret History of the Five Eyes: The Untold Story of the International Spy Network (2022), told The Wall Street Journal. “But now there is deep concern within the community that the alliance could suffer irreparable harm during a second Trump term.” Kerbaj spent over six years researching the alliance’s 70-year history, interviewing intelligence officers and world leaders alike. His account lays bare how, even during Trump’s first term, the US intelligence community found itself in the unusual position of having to reassure its partners—and, at times, push back against the president himself.
One of the most revealing moments in Richard Kerbaj’s book—and one he describes as a “turning point”—centres on the accusations made by Donald Trump and his supporters against British intelligence, alleging that they had wiretapped him at Trump Tower. In 2017, Trump vigorously propagated this claim across social media and the press. As Kerbaj recounts, officials from the NSA, CIA, and FBI felt compelled to repeatedly reassure their counterparts in the Five Eyes alliance that “their historic relationship should not be undermined by politics, least of all by the sitting US president.”
In a BBC interview, NSA Deputy Director Rick Ledgett openly came to the defence of his British colleagues, dismissing the wiretapping accusations as “ridiculous nonsense.” Meanwhile, Ledgett’s superior, NSA Director Michael Rogers, reportedly told Trump face-to-face: “Sir, this relationship doesn’t work that way. That’s not how Five Eyes works.”
However, during Trump’s second term, the dynamic has shifted dramatically. In early April, the president dismissed NSA Director Timothy Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble, allegedly due to questions of disloyalty. Given this backdrop, the question looms large: can the alliance survive such turbulence?
Unmatched network
“There is no other spy network with the same round-the-clock geographic reach and capabilities as the Five Eyes, where like-minded organisations share intelligence, analysis, technology, tradecraft, and even personnel in pursuit of a common goal,” writes Richard Kerbaj in The Secret History of the Five Eyes: The Untold Story of the International Spy Network. Unlike other alliances, such as NATO, which have expanded their membership over time, the Five Eyes has maintained its exclusivity from the outset.
In his account of the alliance’s seventy-year history, Kerbaj highlights the unique nature of the Five Eyes by noting that, as a coalition of autonomous organisations, they do not always agree on every issue. For instance, New Zealand was partially excluded from the alliance for more than two decades after opposing US nuclear policy. Canada, meanwhile, chose not to join the US-led invasion of Iraq but remained firmly within the fold of the intelligence-sharing network.
Relations between the United Kingdom and the United States haven’t always been smooth either. After the UK uncovered Soviet spies on its territory, intelligence sharing was temporarily suspended. In 1973, then-National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger even demanded that Britain be removed from the Five Eyes alliance due to disagreements over Middle East policy. However, the NSA refused to comply.
Kerbaj also notes that Australia and the US jointly pressured Britain to cut ties with the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei. Despite all these challenges, the Five Eyes alliance has endured.
Business as usual
For now, as The Economist reports, intelligence chiefs from the Five Eyes countries remain concerned but not yet alarmed. “All routine processes are proceeding as usual,” the magazine quotes one insider. At the same time, many commentators and publications highlight the enduring truth that, no matter the circumstances, it is the United States that sets the tone within the alliance.
What’s more, the United States retains the most extensive intelligence capabilities compared to the other members. Yet, each country brings unique strengths to the table that Washington lacks. As The Economist points out, America has its own stakes to consider. For example, Canada has been a leader in SIGINT (signals intelligence) in the Arctic since the 1940s. The UK has invested heavily in cryptography, and Australia’s strategic position is crucial for monitoring Chinese threats in Asia.
Nonetheless, the rapid and sweeping changes—and the surrounding turbulence—that have characterised Donald Trump’s second term could trigger irreversible shifts, even within the most resilient frameworks, especially when Washington is the one calling the shots.
