DOJ opened a criminal probe into whether Bolton unlawfully disclosed classified info in his memoir on his time as Trump's national security adviser. @NSAGov Director Nakasone warned of just that, saying it would damage US signals intelligence collection. bit.ly/35HexKq
.@NSAGov Director Nakasone on Bolton: “I ... have identified classified [info] in that portion of the manuscript ... Compromise of this [info] could result in the permanent loss of a valuable SIGINT source & cause irreparable damage to the U.S. SIGINT" bit.ly/3iBWOrE
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Bolton manuscript, in June: “The type of classified information in these passages is the type of information that foreign adversaries of the United States seek to obtain, at great cost, through covert intelligence collection”
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NEW: The head of a nonprofit that fights Russian repression says she was possibly poisoned by “some nerve agent” on a trip in Europe in a possible sign Russia's toxin team is targeting critics again. Plus some other suspicious incidents... @thedailybeastthedailybeast.com/suspected-pois…
She said she returned to an open hotel room door on the day of the suspected attack. She checked the room for bugs and did not find any. But she said her room had a strange smell, like "cheap perfumes." Later she “woke up at 5am in acute pain” and eventually "vivid numbness"
Former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst fell ill in 2021 “and experienced symptoms that could have been consistent with poisoning, including elevated levels of toxins in his blood" per The Atlantic Council. Results didn't definitively point to poison. thedailybeast.com/suspected-pois…
NEW: As speculation about the leader of Belarus Lukashenko’s health swirls, Belarus’ opposition tells me it’s a sign for them to be ready to take any opportunity for a democratic push, and for a future without Lukashenko in power. @thedailybeastthedailybeast.com/belarus-rivals…
Belarus’ opposition on Lukashenko: “He looked really bad. You can say that he is in the worst shape we’ve seen him…even if he comes back to his feet it is likely that this is the beginning of his physical degradation…we have to account for this” thedailybeast.com/belarus-rivals…
People in Lukashenko’s circle are almost certainly preparing for his potential downfall now, Kavaleuski warned me. And Russian officials are likely watching the situation closely to consider ways that the Kremlin can maintain influence in Belarus without Lukashenko in power…
BREAKING: Two Russian Su-27 aircraft "conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept" and struck the propeller of a U.S. Air Force ISR unmanned MQ-9 aircraft over the Black Sea today—it led to a "crash and complete loss" of the US MQ-9, according to USEUCOM
U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker says the US drone was completing routine operations in international airspace when the Russian aircraft conducted the unsafe and unprofessional behavior, which is a part of a pattern of dangerous operations from Russian pilots lately.
Just in: President Biden has been briefed on the incident with the Russian aircraft that led to the crash of the US drone, National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby says on a call
NEW: Russia is running a "very intense" influence operation meant to destabilize the current Moldova government, with the apparent aim of installing a Russia-friendly government, U.S. and Moldovan officials told me. Dive in behind the scene @thedailybeastthedailybeast.com/russian-influe…
The op uses TikTok/Telegram/Facebook to stir up discontent over cost of living/energy prices—which Russia exacerbated with Ukraine—Moldova's Ambassador to the US told me. The op encourages the tension to spillover into the physical realm via anti-government protests in Moldova.
The spillover protests in Moldova have included Russian-financed protesters, Moldova believes. Pro-Kremlin entities are also training “protesters” to cause chaos during protests, like breaking police cordons, throwing stones/smoke bombs, per local media. thedailybeast.com/russian-influe…
BREAKING: The Biden administration just downed a high altitude object over Alaska at 40,000 feet. Pres. Biden ordered it downed NSC's John Kirby says. The "predominant concern...was the safety of flight issue at that altitude" as it could've "posed a threat to civilian aircraft"
There is no indication who or what is responsible for the high altitude "object" the Biden admin downed or whether China—or any nation for that matter—is behind it, Kirby said.
“We don't know what [the] entity is," Kirby said of the recently downed "object." "There's no indication that it's from a nation."
New: Russian shelling has raised radioactive dust clouds around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, resulting in elevated radiation levels nearby, according to a Ukrainian military intelligence alert.
The ash has "a level of radiation that is at least 2.5 times higher than the natural background," notes the alert, which claims Russia is trying to blame Ukrainian forces for the issue. The alert doesn't specify any measured changes to radiation levels.