American intelligence officer said he was forced to play down the Russian threat

Former head of intelligence at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Chris Murphy, claims he was forced to downplay the threat of Russian interference in the November 3 presidential election, as it put Donald Trump in a bad light. Air force.

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Murphy filed a formal complaint against his superiors, accusing former and current department heads of censorship, perjury to Congress, and political pressure on intelligence.

He believes that the leadership of the US law enforcement agency is manipulating intelligence, deceiving Congress and conducting an unprecedented politicization of the civil service.

Murphy argues that the Trump administration required him to play down the threat from Russia and local ultranationalists, and instead focus on Iran, China, migrants and anti-fascists.

The White House and the US Department of Homeland Security have categorically denied these allegations. They recalled that Murphy was demoted in August, and associate his statements with this fact.

Earlier, American intelligence concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, but Trump denied claims that his victory was in any way due to Russian influence, and questioned the conclusions of the American intelligence services.

On the subject: Department of State offers $ 10 million for information on interference in the US presidential election

Scout Complaint

The US Department of Homeland Security is a key security agency established after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and has broad powers.

Murphy is a decorated Marine veteran and former FBI special agent.

Murphy's complaint was published by the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, headed by a staunch Trump opponent, California Democrat Adam Schiff, who played a key role in the impeachment process.

The complaint covers Murphy's two years in office (from 2018 to 2020) as director of the intelligence department. It mentions two previous complaints about management that Murphy filed anonymously in 2018 and 2019.

He is sure that it was because of them that he was demoted and given a less significant role. But the official reason for the foreclosure was a leak that his department was collecting dossiers on journalists and protesters in Portland.

Murphy considers this to be only an excuse, but calls his intractability the real reason and demands reinstatement.

Most of the document is devoted to the actions of three officials - the former head of the department Kirstjen Nielsen, acting. current chief Chad Wolf and deputy chief Kenneth Cuccinelli, but also mentions other Trump appointees.

The spy claims that Wolfe barred him from distributing a report on a Russian disinformation campaign that speculated on the mental problems of Joe Biden, Trump's electoral rival.

According to him, the head of the department felt that the report presented Trump in a negative light.

And the deputy head of Cuccinelli, according to the intelligence officer, demanded that he amend the document assessing the threat from ultranationalists (lowering the degree of their danger) and increasing the degree of threat of left-wing radical groups and Antifa.

He also claims that Cuccinelli asked to draw up a dossier on department employees who sabotaged the president's agenda.

In fact, Murphy describes a situation in which the power structure was engaged in informational support of the president and his political statements.

From the very beginning of his election, Trump has been in sharp conflict with American intelligence - intelligence agencies believe that Russia interfered and continues to interfere in American politics, but the president rejects this assessment, seeing in it doubt about his victory in the 2016 elections.

Moscow has consistently denied any interference in the internal affairs of the United States. An investigation by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller uncovered Russian interference in the elections, but found no evidence of collusion between Trump's team and Russian agents.

Murphy, a veteran of the intelligence services, who wrote the complaint, is working in the American capital on a doctoral dissertation on Russian disinformation at the prestigious Georgetown University in his spare time.

But the spy's revelations go far beyond this topic. According to him, the ex-head of the department, Nielsen, exaggerated the threat posed by migrants from Latin America, and named figures that were not true.

She has twice perjured in the House of Representatives, Murphy argues, effectively charging her with a crime.

He also claims that he was required to exaggerate the threat posed by China and Iran.

The White House and the Department of Homeland Security vehemently denied Murphy's accusations, describing them as fabrications of a demoted employee.

On the subject: CIA and State Department veterans: on protests, Trump’s chances for re-election and Russian intervention

Microsoft warns

Meanwhile, Microsoft reported that hackers from Russia, China and Iran are trying to spy on people and groups involved in preparations for the upcoming US presidential elections in November.

The Russian hacker group, which interfered with the 2016 Democratic campaign, is again involved in hacker attacks, according to Microsoft.

According to a company spokesman, it is clear that foreign hacker groups have stepped up their efforts, targeting the November elections.

The Russian Embassy in the United States responded to Microsoft's statement. On the official Facebook page posted this kind of post:

“They have been looking for traces of so-called Russian interference since the previous elections. But after 4 years of widespread allegations, no actual evidence was presented.

In addition, the Law on Supporting Freedom of Ukraine, adopted in 2014, explicitly instructed the Secretary of State to improve democratic governance in Russia and strengthen political organizations, namely, to participate in the creation of parties. In 2016–2018, $ 20 million was allocated annually from the US budget for these purposes. Thus, plans to influence the internal affairs of Russia, including elections, for participation in which new parties are being created, were officially announced and funded. Moreover, it is recognized that such measures were implemented directly or through non-governmental organizations.

It's time to stop poisoning the relationship atmosphere with baseless claims.

We have repeatedly proposed exchanging letters pledging non-interference in each other's internal affairs, as President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Foreign Commissioner Maxim Litvinov did when diplomatic relations were restored in 1933. By the way, Washington insisted on this step.

We were ready to once again provide such guarantees, and in June 2018 we even submitted a draft of such a letter to the US State Department. But so far we have not seen a positive reaction to our proposal.

In this context, we reaffirm our proposal to create a working group on cybersecurity. Professional work in this direction will allow us to dispel existing fears and misunderstandings.”

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