So, in retrospect, what about this letter???Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails
October 19, 2020
We are all individuals who devoted significant portions of our lives to national security. Some of
us served in senior posi<ons in policy departments and agencies, and some of us served in
senior posi<ons in the Intelligence Community. Some of us were political appointees, and some
were career officials. Many of us worked for presidents of both political parties.
We are all also individuals who see Russia as one of our na<on’s primary adversaries. All of us
have an understanding of the wide range of Russian overt and covert activities that undermine
US na<onal security, with some of us knowing Russian behavior intimately, as we worked to
defend our nation against it for a career. A few of us worked against Russian informa<on
opera<ons in the United States in the last several years.
Perhaps most important, each of us believes deeply that American ci8zens should determine the
outcome of elec8ons, not foreign governments. All of us agree with the founding fathers’
concern about the damage that foreign interference in our poli8cs can do to our democracy.
It is for all these reasons that we write to say that the arrival on the US poli<cal scene of emails
purportedly belonging to Vice President Biden’s son Hunter, much of it related to his <me
serving on the Board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has all the classic earmarks of a
Russian informa<on opera<on.
We want to emphasize that we do not know if the emails, provided to the New York Post by
President Trump’s personal aSorney Rudy Giuliani, are genuine or not and that we do not have
evidence of Russian involvement -- just that our experience makes us deeply suspicious that the
Russian government played a significant role in this case.
If we are right, this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this elec8on, and we
believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this.
There are a number of factors that make us suspicious of Russian involvement.
Such an opera<on would be consistent with Russian objec<ves, as outlined publicly and recently
by the Intelligence Community, to create poli<cal chaos in the United States and to deepen
poli<cal divisions here but also to undermine the candidacy of former Vice President Biden and
thereby help the candidacy of President Trump. For the Russians at this point, with Trump
down in the polls, there is incen<ve for Moscow to pull out the stops to do anything possible to
help Trump win and/or to weaken Biden should he win. A “laptop op” fits the bill, as the
publica<on of the emails are clearly designed to discredit Biden.
Such an opera<on would be consistent with some of the key methods Russia has used in its now
mul<-year opera<on to interfere in our democracy – the hacking (via cyber opera<ons) and the
dumping of accurate informa<on or the distribu<on of inaccurate or misinforma<on. Russia did
both of these during the 2016 presiden<al elec<on – judgments shared by the US Intelligence
Community, the inves<ga<on into Russian ac<vi<es by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and the
en<rety (all Republicans and Democrats) on the current Senate Intelligence CommiSee.
Such an opera<on is also consistent with several data points. The Russians, according to media
reports and cybersecurity experts, targeted Burisma late last year for cyber collec<on and
gained access to its emails. And Ukrainian poli<cian and businessman Adriy Derkach, iden<fied
and sanc<oned by the US Treasury Department for being a 10-year Russian agent interfering in
the 2020 elec<on, passed purported materials on Burisma and Hunter Biden to Giuliani.
Our view that the Russians are involved in the Hunter Biden email issue is consistent with two
other significant data points as well. According to the Washington Post, ci<ng four sources,
“U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that Giuliani was the target of an
influence opera<on by Russian intelligence.”
In addi<on, media reports say that the FBI has now opened an inves<ga<on into Russian
involvement in this case. According to USA Today, “...federal authori<es are inves<ga<ng
whether the material supplied to the New York Post by Rudy Giuliani...is part of a smoke bomb
of disinforma<on pushed by Russia.”
We do not know whether these press reports are accurate, but they do suggest concern within
Execu8ve Branch departments and agencies that mirrors ours. It is high 8me that Russia stops
interfering in our democracy.
Signed by,
Jim Clapper
Former Director of National Intelligence
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Former Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Mike Hayden
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director, National Security Agency
Former Principal Deputy Director of Na<onal Intelligence
Leon PaneSa
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Secretary of Defense
John Brennan
Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor
Former Director, Terrorism Threat Integration Center
Former Analyst and Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Thomas Finger
Former Deputy Director of Na<onal Intelligence for Analysis
Former Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, Department of State
Former Chair, National Intelligence Council
Rick LedgeS
Former Deputy Director, National Security Agency
John McLaughlin
Former Actng Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director, Slavic and Eurasian Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Michael Morell
Former Acting Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Mike Vickers
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Former Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Doug Wise
Former Deputy Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
Former Senior CIA Operations Officer
Nick Rasmussen
Former Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Russ Travers
Former Acting Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Former Deputy Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Former Analyst of the Soviet Union and Russia, Defense Intelligence Agency
Andy Liepman
Former Deputy Director, Na<onal Counterterrorism Center
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
John Moseman
Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of Congressional Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Minority Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Larry Pfeiffer
Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director, White House Situation Room
Jeremy Bash
Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Chief of Staff, Department of Defense
Former Chief Counsel, House Permanent Select CommiSee on Intelligence
Rodney Snyder
Former Chief of Staff, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of Intelligence Programs, National Security Council
Chief of Sta<on, Central Intelligence Agency
Glenn Gerstell
Former General Counsel, National Security Agency
David B. Buckley
Former Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Democratic Staff Director, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Former Counterespionage Case Officer, United States Air Force
Nada Bakos
Former Analyst and Targeting Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
PaSy Brandmaier
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Associate Director for Military Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
James B. Bruce
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, National Intelligence Council
Considerable work related to Russia
David Cariens
Former Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
50+ Years Working in the Intelligence Community
Janice Cariens
Former Operational Support Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Paul Kolbe
Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Chief, Central Eurasia Division, Central Intelligence Agency
Peter Corsell
Former Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
BreS Davis
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Director of the Special Activities Center for Expedi<onary Opera<ons, CIA
Roger Zane George
Former National Intelligence Officer
Steven L. Hall
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Chief of Russian Opera<ons, Central Intelligence Agency
Kent Harrington
Former National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of Public Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
Don Hepburn
Former Senior National Security Execu<ve
Timothy D. Kilbourn
Former Dean, Sherman Kent School of Intelligence Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Former PDB Briefer to President George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency
Ron Marks
Former Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Twice former staff of the Republican Majority Leader
Jonna Hiestand Mendez
Technical Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Emile Nakhleh
Former Director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Senior Intelligence Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
Gerald A. O’Shea
Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Served four tours as Chief of Station, Central Intelligence Agency
David Priess
Former Analyst and Manager, Central Intelligence Agency
Former PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency
Pam Purcilly
Former Deputy Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Director of the Office of Russian and European Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Former PDB Briefer to President George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency
Marc Polymeropoulos
Former Senior Operations Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Acting Chief of Operations for Europe and Eurasia, Central Intelligence Agency
Chris Savos
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Officer
Nick Shapiro
Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency
John Sipher
Former Senior Opera<ons Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Deputy Chief of Russian Opera<ons, Central Intelligence Agency
Stephen Slick
Former Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, Na<onal Security Council
Former Senior Operations Office, Central Intelligence Agency
Cynthia Strand
Former Deputy Assistant Director for Global Issues, Central Intelligence Agency
Greg Tarbell
Former Deputy Executive Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Analyst of the Soviet Union and Russia, Central Intelligence Agency
David Terry
Former Chairman of the National Intelligence Collection Board
Former Chief of the PDB, Central Intelligence Agency
Former PDB Briefer to Vice President Dick Cheney, Central Intelligence Agency
Greg Treverton
Former Chair, Na<onal Intelligence Council
John Tullius
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
David A. Vanell
Former Senior Opera<ons Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Winston Wiley
Former Director of Analysis, Central Intelligence Agency
Former Chief, Counterterrorism Center, Central Intelligence Agency
Kris<n Wood
Former Senior Intelligence Officer, Central Intelligence Agency
Former PDB Briefer, Central Intelligence Agency
In addition, nine additional former IC officers who cannot be named publicly also support the
arguments in this letter.
Original letter:
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000175 ... 9f9b330000