Russia’s information war against the West is a century-old mind game that still warps American politics. It’s not just about bots and trolls or hacked emails. It’s about how disinformation expertly crafted by Moscow seeps into our institutions, distorts our public debates, and ultimately turns us against ourselves.

When Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released new Russiagate documents this summer, it was just the latest chapter in the long-running drama.

To understand how our country lost its mind about Russia, you need to go back to the very beginning of our modern intelligence community. This week on Breaking History: Meet James Jesus Angleton, a founding father of the CIA, a Cold Warrior, and a man who lost himself in the very paranoia he was trained to exploit—all because of a great betrayal.

Angleton spent his career hunting Soviet moles. But the deeper he went, the more convinced he became that everything—even our allies, even our own government—was compromised.

Before the farce of Russiagate, there was the tragedy of a beautiful mind destroyed by the reality of Russian interference. His story both explains our political moment and acts as a warning for us all.