Trump has purged one of the CIA's most senior Russia analysts - Economist
Kyiv • UNN
The leading CIA analyst on Russia was removed from her position. She oversaw the preparation of the report on Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.
Government in the USA, during Donald Trump's presidency, has purged one of the leading CIA analysts on Russia, The Economist reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the CIA officer worked in American intelligence for more than 20 years. In 2016, as the country's chief intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia, she oversaw the preparation of a report describing Russia's interference in that year's presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. Several years later, she returned to the agency as a senior manager, overseeing CIA operations and analysis related to Russia and the former Soviet Union.
On August 19, her career abruptly ended when Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, revoked her security clearance, as well as the clearances of 36 other current and former officials accused of "betraying the Constitution." The Trump administration had previously used its control over clearances as a political cudgel against retired officials. But the aforementioned CIA officer, along with two other officers involved in the 2016 report, Shelby Pierson and Vinh Nguyen, are among the highest-ranking career intelligence officers dismissed under Trump. These moves mark a sharp escalation of his struggle with American spies.
The Economist understands that the dismissal of the CIA officer, who was in charge of hundreds of analysts and other employees, caused alarm among many current and active intelligence officers. Losing a clearance is "career-ending," says Larry Pfeiffer, a former CIA officer who was stripped of his clearance on January 20: "Even janitors have clearances." Many employees rely on clearances after retirement to find positions in consulting.