US officials suggest cover-up to Trump admin after mysterious illness: NYT

• In 2016, U.S. embassy staff in Cuba and China reported falling ill with symptoms, including balance and vision problems. Subsequent studies said they may have been exposed to a microwave radiation attack.
• On Monday, The New York Times reported that U.S. Diplomats and spies reported similar symptoms.
• CIA and State Department employees who have said they have been affected in China and Russia told the Times that they are fighting for appropriate treatment, with President Trump’s administration suggesting a “cover-up”.
• According to the Times, some officials suspect Russian involvement in the mysterious illnesses, although the CIA director is not convinced that an attack has taken place or that Russia may be involved.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

U.S. spies and diplomats are suggesting a cover-up by President Donald Trump’s administration, saying he refused to properly investigate a mysterious illness that affected officials in Cuba, China and Russia, according to The New York Times. The Times states.

In 2016, U.S. and Canadian diplomats in Cuba began hearing strange noises and later reporting symptoms such as nerve damage and experiencing headaches. Doctors said they were caused by mild traumatic brain injuries.

In 2018, several employees of the U.S. embassy in Guangzhou, China, also said they heard mysterious noises, had similar symptoms, and were later diagnosed with brain injuries.

The Times reported on Monday that some senior CIA officers visiting foreign stations, including Moscow, had experienced similar symptoms, but the agency was not sure if the attack had taken place.

The cause of the illnesses is not entirely clear, but subsequent studies have found that microwave radiation was the main suspect. According to the Times, some government scientists believe that physical illness may be the cause instead.

‘They hung us to dry’

The Times reported that the State Department treated the cases differently in Cuba and China. In Chinese cases, the newspaper said, the state department has not continuously evaluated these cases, ignored the medical diagnoses of outside experts, and has not withheld “basic” information from Congress.

Following reports that a U.S. visitor had fallen ill in Cuba, the Trump administration took action against the country, withdrew embassy staff members and expelled Cuban diplomats from the U.S. In 2017, President Donald Trump also said that “Cuba is responsible.”

The administration launched an independent review around “unclear medical conditions”, although Cuba denied involvement with the diseases.

But the administration took a softer approach with China: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo previously said the cases were “very similar and fully consistent” with the Cuban case, and some employees were expelled, but the State Department later described the incidents as “health.” Events “and no investigation was opened.

Six U.S. officials told the Times that the State Department has learned that it will not be able to deal with Chinese cases the same way it did with Cuba without crippling U.S. diplomacy and economics.

Citing interviews with more than 20 government officials, lawyers and doctors, the Times also reported that affected American workers in China have “fought for more than two years to get the same benefits to victims in Cuba and others attacked by foreign powers.”

He said the fight has led to retaliation from the government which may have damaged his career forever.

Mark Lenzie, a State Department employee who suffered from memory loss-like symptoms after arriving in Guangzhou, told the Times he had sued the state department for disability discrimination.

“This is a deliberate, high-level cover-up,” he added. “They’ve hung us up to dry.”

Some legislators are now pressuring the State Department to publish a study of cases found in August Gust from the National Academy of Sciences.

More reports from Moscow

A former senior CIA official said this week that he believes he was the victim of a similar attack in Moscow in December 2017.

Mark Polymeropoulos, who helped carry out intelligence operations in Russia and Europe, told the Times that he had experienced ause bouts and dizziness in his hotel room, and that the transfer had resulted in a stabilization and eventually forced him to retire.

Polymeropuuos also told GQ that the CIA did not provide him and other affected officials with the necessary medical care.

“It’s incumbent on them to provide us with the medical help we need, which we say doesn’t include what we’re all making of it,” he said. “I want the agency to treat this as a combat injury.”

He also said that another CIA colleague who lived with him in Moscow had fallen ill and lost a hearing in one ear.

Polymeropoulos also told GQ that a private doctor had diagnosed him with nerve damage, but the agency said he did not need to be referred to a hospital.

He said the CIA needed to investigate the cases, adding that the leadership had “not done the right thing.”

“The agency will have to answer for this,” he added.

CIA representatives said in a statement to the GQ: “The agency’s priority is to pursue the health and well-being of our officers on strict targets, including Russia, and to provide that intelligence to policymakers.” No. True. “

Many point to Russia

The Times reports that some senior CIA Russia analysts, some State Department officials and some outside scientists – as well as some of the victims – hold Russia largely responsible. Russia has refused to join.

Two U.S. officials told the Times that CIA Director Gina Haspel knew that Russia intended to harm U.S. operatives, but did not confirm whether the attacks took place or whether Russia could be held responsible.

Polymeropoulos also blamed Russia in his meeting with GQ.

And Lenzi, a State Department employee working with China, told the Times that senior officials “know exactly which country is responsible”, adding that it is not Cuba or China but another country that serves as secretary of state and president. Do not want to confront. “