NEW: US diplomats & spies say Trump administration has concealed info on mystery attacks abroad in which Russia is a suspect. We found new episodes w/ CIA officers in Moscow & elsewhere — similar to Cuba & China crises. w/ @AnaSwanson @julianbarnes. nytimes.com/2020/10/19/us/…
2. Our @nytimes investigation found the Trump administration took a softer approach on China. State Dept. didn't open an investigation there, as they had in Cuba. They downplayed the idea of attacks. They didn't give the same benefits to the US government employees who suffered.
3. US officials told us political aims in the White House played a big role in different approaches on the suspected attacks against Americans. Trump wanted to undo Obama’s opening w/ Cuba. But he wanted to strengthen ties w/ Putin and Xi, and he sought a trade deal w/ China.
4. Mark Lenzi is a diplomatic security officer who has sued the State Dept. for disability discrimination. He and his family were evacuated from China in 2018 after he was injured. “This is a deliberate, high-level cover-up,” he said. "They have hung us out to dry.”
5. Marc Polymeropoulos @Mpolymer is a 26-year CIA veteran who wants proper medical treatment from the US government. He told us he was hit by a brain attack in Moscow in Dec. 2017. “This is a combat injury. If you are Navy SEAL and you get blown up, you go right to Walter Reed."
@Mpolymer 6. National Academies of Sciences gave State Dept. a big report on the attacks in Aug. David A. Relman, a Stanford professor who chaired the committee, said it was “disheartening and immensely frustrating” that the State Dept. isn't sharing the report with the public or Congress.
7. US lawmakers are pushing the Trump administration to give benefits to the victims and deliver answers. "These injuries, and subsequent treatment by the U.S. government, have been a living nightmare for these dedicated public servants and their families,” says @SenatorShaheen.
8. This earlier @nytimes video by @melissakchan & @jonah_kessel looked at how the episodes in Havana were used by the Trump administration to undo the Obama opening with Cuba. @marcorubio pushed for that, but also pointed to Russia as a potential attacker. nytimes.com/video/world/am…
9. There's growing evidence pointing to Russia, though Moscow denies a role. Some of the attacks hit CIA officers who were traveling overseas to discuss plans w/ partner intel agencies to counter Russian covert operations. Some CIA analysts think Moscow was trying to derail that.
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