Jeff Seldin Profile picture
Aug 21, 2020 15 tweets 10 min read Read on X
NEW: Ex @USArmy Special Forces officer arrested for spying for #Russia from 1996-2011

Per @TheJusticeDept 45yo Peter Debbins of #Gainesville #Virginia "periodically visited Russia &met w/Russian intelligence agents," provided "information abt his chemical & Special Forces units"
Debbins "betrayed the Special Forces & endangered our country’s nat'l security by revealing classified information to #Russia|n intelligence officers...identifying Special Forces team members for Russian intelligence to try to recruit" per @TheJusticeDept Asst AG John Demers
“According to the allegations, Mr. Debbins knowingly provided information to self-proclaimed members of #Russia's Intelligence Service, the #GRU" per @FBIWFO acting Asst Dir James Dawson in statement
Per @TheJusticeDept, Debbins faces maximum of life in prison if convicted

More info here: justice.gov/opa/pr/former-…
According to the indictment, Debbins's mother was born in the #SovietUnion, and he developed an interest in #Russia "at least in part due to his mother's heritage"

He 1st traveled to Russia in 1994 & married his wife in Russia in 1997 - she became a US citizen in 2010
#Russia intelligence 1st contacted Debbins in 1996, learning he was ROTC and planned to serve in the US military though his political opinions were "pro-Russian & anti-American" per the indictment
During October 1997 meeting, #Russia intel agencts gave Debbins the code name "Ikar Lesnikov" & Debbins signed a document "stating he wanted to 'serve Russia'" per @TheJusticeDept indictment Image
Per the indictment, Debbins began his active duty US military duty in 1998, serving in #SouthKorea & #Louisiana, before joining @USArmy special forces and serving in #Germany & #Azerbaijan

His unit also operated in the Republic of #Georgia
Also per the indictment, Debbins was investigated for a security violation & had his security clearance suspended in late 2044, early 2005, shortly after he was "removed from his command in #Azerbaijan"
From 2005-2010, Debbins was with the US Army inactive reserve and worked for a #Ukrain|ian steel manufacturer in #Minnesota Image
Per @TheJusticeDept, during a visit to #Russia in 1999, Debbins told his Russian #GRU handlers he wanted to leave the US army but that one "encouraged Debbins to remain in the military"
#Russia intel may have worried Debbins was actually a US spy - and questioned him about it Image
#Russia intel "encouraged Debbins to pursue the Special Forces...he was of no use to the Russian intelligence service as an infantry commander"

Handlers offered to pay Debbins $1,000 - "Initially, Debbins declined payment, stating he has true love for #Russia" per the indictment
Per @TheJusticeDept, Debbins provided #Russia's GRU with more than just names of other special force operators they might want to approach... He "also provided them with the names of two US counterintelligence officers who had previously attempted to recruit [him]" Image
In January 2010, an adjudicator w/the US Army notified Debbins he had been approved for a TS/SCI security clearance but catuioned about his business connections, his father-in-law, and more: "[s]ituations such as those...have been exploited in the past" ImageImage

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More from @jseldin

Mar 11
HAPPENING NOW - US intelligence chiefs testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee:

@ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines
@CIA Dir William Burns
@FBI Dir Christoper Wray
@NSAGov Dir Gen Timothy Haugh
@DefenseIntel Dir LtGen Jeffrey Krause
@StateDept Asst Sec for Intel Brett Holmgren Image
Noting that the current era is as challenging as ever, with a wide variety of threats, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair @MarkWarner calls for "redefining what we think of" when it comes to national security Image
@MarkWarner "We are no even seeing the possibility of foreign adversaries weaponizing space" in ways that could be detrimental to US way of life, per @MarkWarner
Read 73 tweets
Feb 29
NEW: @FBI joins White House, Senate intelligence committee chair in sounding alarm about foreign interference in #Election2024

"This election cycle, the US will face more adversaries, moving at a faster pace & enabled by new technology
per Dir Christopher Wray at @INSAlliance
#ArtificialIntelligence advances "lowering the barrier to entry-making it easier for both more & less-sophisticated foreign adversaries to engage in malign influence" per @FBI's Wray

"Making foreign influence efforts by players old and&new more realistic & difficult to detect"
@FBI Where are US adversaries focused?

“The attack surface for the bad guys is the private sector” per @FBI's Wray "The intelligence that we need is in the hands of the private sector, often”
Read 10 tweets
Feb 25
NEW: US worried about #Russia seeking to interfere in #Election2024

"Of course there are concerns" White House Nat'l Security Adviser @JakeSullivan46 tells @MeetThePress
"There's plenty of reason to be concerned" per @JakeSullivan46

"There is a history here in presidential elections by the #Russia|n Federation, by its intelligence services" he says

"We are going to be vigilant"
Concerns about #Russia|n interference in #Election2024 "not about politics" per @JakeSullivan46

"This is about national security. It is about a foreign country, a foreign adversary seeking to manipulate the politics & democracy of the United States of America."
Read 14 tweets
Feb 6
NEW: US confirms #Houthis using "various #Iran|ian-origin missiles & unmanned aerial vehicles" in their attacks on shipping in the #RedSea #GulfofAden

Conclusion based on new analysis by @DefenseIntel
The assessment is based on information current as January 2024 - including a "comparative analysis of publicly available images of #Iran|ian missiles & UAVs to those displayed & employed by #Houthi forces in #Yemen to attack commercial shipping" per @DefenseIntel
US @DefenseIntel on #Iran|ian drones in #Houthi arsenal:
-Sayad (Sammad) - range of 1800km
-Shahed-136 - range of 2500km
-Waid-1 (version of the Shahed-131) - range of 900km Image
Read 13 tweets
Feb 1
NEW: #alQaida expanding in #Afghanistan

AQ "established up to 8 new training camps in Afghanistan, including four in #Ghazni, #Laghman, #Parwan & #Uruzgan Provinces w/a new base to stockpile weaponry in the #Panjshir Valley" per new @UN report
The new #alQaida camps appear to be "conducting suicide bomber training for TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban #Pakistan]" per the @UN report
Intelligence provided by @UN member states also notes #alQaida is operating madrasas in #Laghman, #Kunar, #Nangarhar, #Nuristan & #Parwan provinces

AQ also "maintains safe houses to facilitate the movement between #Afghanistan & the Islamic Republic of #Iran"
Read 16 tweets
Dec 11, 2023
NEW: @usairforce disciplines 15 Air National Guard members as a result of the so-called Discord intel leak this past April

Inspector General report cited lax inspections, lack of guidance & lack of supervision as contributing factors in the leaks by 21-year-old Jack Teixeira
"The IG investigation found individuals in Teixeira’s unit failed to take proper action after becoming aware of his intelligence-seeking activities..." per @usairforce statement
"...However, the investigation did not find evidence that members of Teixeira’s supervisory chain were aware of his alleged unauthorized disclosures" per @usairforce
Read 5 tweets

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