CIA’s Kremlin Spies Suddenly Go Dark [Video]

CIA’s Kremlin Spies Suddenly Go Dark

via ZeroHedge

CIA spies operating within the Kremlin have suddenly “gone to ground” according to the New York Times, citing American officials clearly abusing their security clearances.

The officials do not think their sources have been compromised or killed – rather, they’ve been spooked into silence amid “more aggressive counterintelligence by Moscow, including efforts to kill spies,” according to the Times, pointing to the still-unsolved March poisoning of former Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal in the UK.

Curiously, the Times immediately suggests that the lack of intelligence is “leaving the CIA and other spy agencies in the dark about precisely what Mr. Putin’s intentions are for November’s midterm elections.”

But American intelligence agencies have not been able to say precisely what are Mr. Putin’s intentions: He could be trying to tilt the midterm elections, simply sow chaos or generally undermine trust in the democratic process. –NYT

There it is. Of course, buried towards the end of the article is this admission:

But officials said there has been no concrete intelligence pointing to Mr. Putin ordering his own intelligence units to wade into the election to push for a certain outcome, beyond a broad chaos campaign to undermine faith in American democracy.

Meanwhile, “current and former officials” tell the Times that the outing of FBI spy Stefan Halper, who infiltrated the Trump campaign, had a “chilling effect on intelligence collection.”

In other words; the Daily Caller‘s March report and subsequent confirmations by the New York Times and the Washington Post of the FBI’s so-called mole within the Trump campaign were harmful to national security, according to the Times – offering zero evidence of this except mysterious finger-wagging government sources.

That said, the United States “continues to intercept Russian communication, and the flow of that intelligence remains strong,” according to the current and former officials, while Russian informants are still able to meet their CIA handlers outside of Russia.

The Times spends the rest of the article discussing Russian meddling, citing testimony by former CIA director John Brennan, who testified to Congress that he was “convinced in the summer [of 2016] that the Russians were trying to interfere in the election. And they were very aggressive.”

Not aggressive enough for then-President Obama to do anything about it, but then again nobody thought Trump would win.

US intelligence officials, meanwhile, continue to warn of Russian threats.

Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, have warned thatRussians are intent on subverting American democratic institutions.

…

This year, Mr. Coats issued a series of warnings saying the Russian government, and Mr. Putin in particular, is intent on undermining American democratic systems.

At an appearance this month at the White House, Mr. Coats said intelligence agencies “continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try and weaken and divide the United States.” He added that those efforts “cover issues relevant to the elections.”

But officials said there has been no concrete intelligence pointing to Mr. Putin ordering his own intelligence units to wade into the election to push for a certain outcome, beyond a broad chaos campaign to undermine faith in American democracy. –NYT

The Times notes that informants close to Putin are “very rare,” according to their sources – as the United States has had “only a few” in recent years, and “at times been reliant on only one or two for the most important insights on Mr. Putin.”

We wonder if these are the same high level “Kremlin officials” cited as major sources in the largely unverified Steele Dossier paid for in part by Hillary Clinton before the DOJ/FBI used it to spy on a member of the Trump campaign?

Former Obama administration official and Russia expert, Michael Carpenter, pointed to “fake social media accounts created as part of Russian intelligence operations” that have “drummed up support for white nationalists and the Black Lives Matter movement,” and are now supporting “far right, far left and pro-Russian candidates in the United States and Europe.”

“Clearly Russia is playing both sides of controversial issues precisely to sow chaos. But that said it is not just chaos, there are certain candidates Russia prefers to see in office,” said Carpenter, now at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. “The Russians are trying to support anti-establishment and pro-Russian candidates, not just in the U.S. but everywhere.”

On the other hand, Facebook VP of advertising, Rob Goldman, admitted in February that “the majority of the Russian ad spend happened AFTER the election,” and “I have seen all of the Russian ads and I can say very definitively that swaying the election was *NOT* the main goal.”