Tag Archives: CIA

Reuters reports: Two years into office, President Donald Trump authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media aimed at turning public opinion in China against its government, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the highly classified operation. Three former officials told Reuters that the CIA created a small team of operatives …

Axios reports: A former CIA software engineer who was convicted of carrying out the largest data breach in the agency’s history was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced. Joshua Adam Schulte’s “transmission of that stolen information to WikiLeaks is one of the largest unauthorized disclosures of classified information in the history of the …

The New York Times reports: As President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has pursued enemies abroad, his intelligence operatives now appear prepared to cross a line that they previously avoided: trying to kill a valuable informant for the U.S. government on American soil. The clandestine operation, seeking to eliminate a C.I.A. informant in Miami who had been a high-ranking Russian …

CNN reports: The Biden administration faces a Wednesday deadline to publicly release a tranche of secret documents that some historians — and conspiracy theorists — hope might shed light on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The release is expected to prolong the bitter debate between the federal government and JFK researchers, who have argued that the CIA, …

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading some Republican lawmakers to raise concerns about removing employees from agencies critical to national security.  Several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated as of late October, said U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart, a Utah …

NBC News reports: President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday that he has nominated former career diplomat William Burns to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. “The American people will sleep soundly with him as our next CIA Director,” Biden said in a statement. Burns is the last major nomination for Biden, who takes office in nine days. Burns most recently served as …

ABC News reports: CIA Director Gina Haspel led a slate of intelligence officials to the U.S. Capitol Thursday to brief a select group of lawmakers on reports Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan. Members of the so-called “Gang of Eight” were expected to attend Thursday’s briefing. The exclusive group is comprised of the legislative …

The Washington Post reports: The CIA has privately advised its workforce that taking an anti-malarial drug touted by President Trump and some of his supporters as a promising treatment for the novel coronavirus has potentially dangerous side effects, including sudden death. The warning, featured on a website for CIA employees with questions related to the spread of covid-19, came in …

NBC News reports: Weeks before the whistleblower’s complaint became public, the CIA’s top lawyer made what she considered to be a criminal referral to the Justice Department about the whistleblower’s allegations that President Donald Trump abused his office in pressuring the Ukrainian president, U.S. officials familiar with the matter tell NBC News. The move by the CIA’s general counsel, Trump …

The New York Times reports: The whistle-blower who revealed that President Trump sought foreign help for his re-election and that the White House sought to cover it up is a C.I.A. officer who was detailed to work at the White House at one point, according to three people familiar with his identity. The man has since returned to the C.I.A., …

Just in from the Department of Justice: The United States today filed a lawsuit against Edward Snowden, a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), who published a book entitled Permanent Record in violation of the non-disclosure agreements he signed with both CIA and NSA. The lawsuit alleges that Snowden published …

Politico reports: The Justice Department has decided not to charge Julian Assange for his role in exposing some of the CIA’s most secret spying tools, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the case. It’s a move that has surprised national security experts and some former officials, given prosecutors’ recent decision to aggressively go after the …

“Earlier this week John Bolton on this program said all options on the table when it comes to getting [Nicolás] Maduro out. Should we use the CIA? I realize I’m going back to the late 1950s or something. But I mean why not? Why not? The guy is a corrupt socialist dictator. He’s killing his own people in the street. …

Reuters reports: Former CIA Director John Brennan last year called Trump’s performance at a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin “nothing short of treasonous” after Trump seemed to give credence to Putin’s denial of Russia meddling in the 2016 election. Trump then revoked Brennan’s security clearance. Brennan wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that Trump’s refusal to accept the …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the CIA did not reach a conclusion about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s involvement in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, adding during a teleconference with military members that Salman “regretted the death more than I do.” The president had previously declined to confirm or deny reports that …

USA Today reports: The CIA has concluded in an assessment that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, according to the Associated Press and Washington Post. The assessment comes weeks after the Saudi government admitted Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the royal family, was killed in its Turkish consulate at the hands of interrogators. …

Politico reports: Former CIA Director John Brennan delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump to clean up his act and “try to act presidential” after Trump lashed out again at media outlets on Thursday, only a day after authorities discovered a spate of suspicious packages delivered to prominent political figures. “Stop blaming others. Look in the mirror. Your inflammatory …

An excerpt from the new book by WaPo’s Greg Miller: When told that the CIA flew surveillance flights over Syria but that only the military conducted strikes — an Obama policy meant to return the agency’s focus to its core espionage mission — Trump made clear he wanted those restrictions wiped away and for the agency to start firing. “If …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump accused former CIA and FBI official Philip Mudd of becoming “totally unglued and weird” late on Monday, responding to a recent appearance on CNN where he went head-to-head with conservative speaker Paris Dennard regarding the White House’s decision to revoke former CIA agent John Brennan’s security clearance. After Fox News’ Sean Hannity aired a …

Former CIA director John Brennan appeared on Meet The Press this morning and Chuck Todd asked if he stands by his claim that Trump has committed treason. “Well I called his behavior treasonous, which is to betray one’s trust, and to aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim,” Brennan answered. “You are the former …