Published 12:41 IST, September 10th 2020
Trump's top adviser sought to censor intelligence on Russian interference: Whistleblower
Murphy told the committee that he was instructed by Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, to stop reporting on the threat of Russian interference.
A senior US intelligence official has alleged that White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials improperly sought to "politicise", "manipulate" and "censor" intelligence regarding Russian meddling in the US election in order to benefit President Donald Trump politically, according to House intelligence committee. The explosive revelations were made by Brian Murphy, the former head of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) under DHS.
Murphy told the committee that he was instructed by Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, to stop reporting on the threat of Russian interference in the US election and instead start providing assessments on meddling activities by China and Iran. Murphy said that Chad told him these instructions came directly from the White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, a close aide of Donald Trump.
Robert O'Brien and other White House officials have been pressing on China as the biggest threat when it comes to interfering with the upcoming US Presidential Election. O'Brien had last week said that he would put China upfront, ahead of Iran and Russia, when it comes to countries that are actively seeking to influence domestic politics in the United States. Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had claimed otherwise, calling Russia the biggest threat to US poll.
Department of Homeland Security has rejected claims made by Brian Murphy in front of the Democrat-led House intelligence committee. A Department spokesperson said that there are no merits at all in what Murphy is claiming, adding that the agency is working to address all threats regardless of ideology.
White Supremacy reports stifled too
The complaint by Murphy also alleges that Ken Cuccinelli, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, asked him to specifically modify the section on White Supremacy in a manner that made the threat appear less severe, as well as include information on the prominence of violent ‘left-wing’ groups, such as Antifa, that Donald Trump has been blaming for the recent racial protests and subsequent violence in the United States.
Updated 12:41 IST, September 10th 2020