“If we are right,” he added, “this Russia is trying to influence how Americans will vote in this election, and we strongly believe that Americans need to be aware of this.”
Nick Shapiro, a former top aide to CIA Director John Brennan, delivered the letter to Politico on Monday. He noted that “the IC leaders who signed the letter are working for the last four presidents, including Trump. The real power here is the number of former, executive-level IC officials who want the American people to know that the Russians are once again interfering. “
Former Trump administration officials who signed the letter include Rush Trump, who served as executive director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Glenn Gerstel, former NSA general counsel; Rick Leggett, former deputy NSA director; Mark Polymeropuos, retired CIA senior operations officer; And Cynthia Strand, who served as the CIA’s deputy assistant director for global issues. Former CIA director or acting director Brennan, Leon Panetta, General Michael Hayden, John McLaughlin and Michael Morrell also signed the letter with more than three dozen intelligence veterans. Many former officials on the list have endorsed Biden.
National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe said Monday that information on Biden’s laptop was “not part of some Russian disbandment campaign,” although the FBI was investigating whether Russia was involved.
The New York Times on Sunday questioned the rigor of the post’s reporting process, revealing that many of its reporters refused to put their names on Biden’s stories because they were concerned about the veracity of the material. The Post said in a statement that it had “investigated” the report.
But Russian hackers threw emails from Democrats onto the Internet, prompting allegations of corruption by Trump – when Russian hackers compared the content on the Internet, which has not been independently verified by independent librarians. While there was no immediate indication of Russian involvement in the release of the post-received emails, its general thrust reflects a narrative that U.S. Intelligence agencies have described Biden’s candidacy as part of an active Russian disintegration effort aimed at rejecting him.
“We want to emphasize that the emails given to the New York Post by President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, are genuine and that we have no evidence of Russian involvement,” the letter said. But, he continues, “there are many factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.”
“Such an operation would be in line with Russian objectives, publicly and recently as outlined by the intelligence community, to create political chaos in the United States and create more political divisions here, but also to undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy and President Trump’s candidacy.” Reads the letter.
Russia is trying to discredit Biden’s campaign, particularly by Ukrainian legislator Andrei Derkach, who has visited Biden at least twice over allegations of corruption, said Bill Ivanina, director of the National Defense and Security Center, in August Gust. Last month, Darkach was cleared by the Treasury Department to act as a Russian agent and to interfere in the 2020 elections.
In an interview with the Daily Beast this week, Giulini dismissed concerns about Derkach, saying “the chance that Derkach is a Russian spy is no better than 0/50.” And he told the Purple Biden Email Trouve to the Vapor Street Journal: “Can it be hacked? I do not know. I don’t think so. If it was hacked, it’s for real. If it was hacked. I didn’t hack it. I have every right to use it. ”
Former officials said Dirkach’s relationship with Giulia and with a fixation on Bidens is consistent with the hack reported by Russia on Burisma – the Ukrainian energy company that gave Hunter Biden a board meeting and is at the center of allegations of corruption by Trump and his allies. With ”a Russian operation.
“For the Russians at this time, after putting Trump down in the election, there is an incentive for Moscow to stop doing anything to help Trump win and / or weaken what Biden should win,” the letter said. “It fits the ‘Laptop Op’ bill, as the release of emails is clearly designed to discredit Biden.”
Biden’s top advisers who staffed him during his vice presidency, citing his own recollection and a review of Biden’s official timetable, dismissed suggestions that Biden ever met with a Buryasma representative in 2015 or that Hunter was involved in Biden’s business interests. .
“During the impeachment, an investigation by the press and two Republican-led Senate committees whose work was ‘not legitimate’ and politically determined by the GOP’s allies all came to the same conclusion: Joe Biden has conducted official U.S. policy toward Ukraine and has not engaged in any wrongdoing, “Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said last week.” Trump administration officials have confirmed these facts under oath. “
