#Ex-UK ambassador probed over alleged fling with CNN reporter

The feds launched an unprecedented probe into Britain’s former ambassador to the US because they feared he was leaking secret White House intel to his alleged lover — a CNN journalist, according to a sensational new report.

The Department of Justice investigation into Kim Darroch and his alleged relationship with CNN reporter Michelle Kosinski is thought to be the first into a serving British ambassador in Washington, The Sun reported.

It’s unclear when precisely the probe began, but Darroch, 66, married for 42 years, denied all the allegations from the start and was eventually cleared of passing information to Kosinski, 46, who is also married, the outlet reported.

Kosinski got the attention of “astonished”  White House officials when, in 2018, she suddenly began landing international scoops — some based on highly classified or difficult to obtain information —  that she had not had before, the Sun reported.

Eyebrows were raised when Kosinski learned top-secret information that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was secretly planning a trip to North Korea to lobby for the safe return of three US citizens, the outlet reported.

And the White House also wondered about a report Kosinski filed not long after Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned near their home in Salisbury, Wilts. in March 2018.

The murders were thought to be the work of Russian assassins and the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats. Other countries followed suit, but the US had not done anything yet. Six days later, Kosinski reported that America was considering also expelling Russian diplomats.

She later revealed “new and exclusive” details — citing “a senior foreign diplomat” she claimed European allies were getting “optimistic signals”.

Less than two weeks later Kosinski was apparently being tipped off about US plans for tough sanctions against Russia, The Sun reported.

A source told The Sun that Kosinski “knew about these sanctions before they were announced.”

Kosinski drew the attention of the White House again when she learned of a private argument between Trump and Nikki Haley, at the time the US Ambassador to the UN.

Meanwhile, the alleged relationship between the two, left Darroch vulnerable to the threat of blackmail by a hostile foreign power, security sources told the outlet.

Kosinski and Darroch swapped “intimate messages,” seen by The Sun, in which they gave detailed plans for secret hook-ups. No examples were given.

Darroch resigned his position in July 2019 after leaked cables revealed he had called Trump “incompetent.”

A security source told The Sun: “The leaks of the cables last year were obviously deeply embarrassing and left Darroch no option but to resign once President Trump made his feelings clear.

“But for the US to investigate the most senior diplomat of its greatest ally on suspicion of leaking secret information is almost unprecedented. Although the investigation found nothing over Darroch, the fact it happened is extraordinary.”

Kosinski appears to have left her CNN job five months later, according to her LinkedIn profile. A call to CNN by The Post was not returned Saturday. Kosinski could not be reached for comment.

Last April, Kosinski went to work for the American Association for Retired Persons, where she hosts “The Perfect Scam” podcast which focuses on stories about fraud.

She has been married to wealthy British investment banker-turned-philanthropist Kimbell Rush Duncan since 2014.

Twitter was alight Saturday with talk of Kosinski and Lord Darroch’s alleged affair, especially noting how handsome Duncan is in comparison to the stodgy-looking Darroch.

“Did Michelle Kosinski sleep with him because she fancied him or because she thought she could get some great scoops out of him? Compare the photos of him and her husband and I think you’ll have a pretty good idea what the answer is,” David Cockerham tweeted.

Lord Darroch and his wife have two grown children. Kosinski has two stepchildren with her husband.