DHS Whistleblower Alleges Abuse of Authority from Top Officials, Politicization of Intel on Russia, White Supremacy

Alex Wong / Getty Images – Samuel Corum / Getty Images

A former Homeland Security official has filed a whistleblower complaint making serious allegations about top officials politicizing the intelligence process in several notable areas.

Brian Murphy alleges that he witnessed a “repeated pattern of abuse of authority, attempted censorship of intelligence analysis and improper administration of an intelligence program related to Russian efforts to influence and undermine United States interests.”

He reportedly made a number of classified protected disclosures that “pertained to improper administration of an intelligence program.” The complaint alleges he was told to hold onto intel assessments about Russia and that he was given a rather explicit reason why at one point:

In mid-May 2020, Mr. Wolf instructed Mr. Murphy to cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference in the United States, and instead start reporting on interference activities by China and Iran. Mr. Wolf stated that these instructions specifically originated from White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. Mr. Murphy informed Mr. Wolf he would not comply with these instructions, as doing so would put the country in substantial and specific danger…

On July 7, 2020, DHS Chief of Staff John Gountanis (“Mr. Gountanis”) sent an e-mail to Mr. Murphy directing him to cease any dissemination of an intelligence notification regarding Russian disinformation efforts until Mr. Murphy had spoken with Mr. Wolf. The two men met on July 8, 2020, at which time Mr. Wolf stated to Mr. Murphy the intelligence notification should be “held” because it “made the President look bad”. Mr. Murphy objected, stating that it was improper to hold a vetted intelligence product for reasons for political embarrassment. In response, Mr. Wolf took steps to exclude Mr. Murphy from relevant future meetings on the subject. The draft product was eventually completed without Mr. Murphy’s involvement and was made public in a leak to the media by unknown individuals. It is Mr. Murphy’s assessment that the analysis in the leaked “completed draft” attempts to place the actions of Russia on par with those of Iran and China in a manner that is misleading and inconsistent with the actual intelligence data.

Murphy also alleges that officials like Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli were concerned about a March 2020 Homeland Threat Assessment that had sections on white supremacy and Russian influence in the United States.

The complaint says Wolf and Cuccinelli were concerned “how the HTA would reflect upon President Trump.” Murphy claims Cuccinelli specifically wanted him to “specifically modify the section on White Supremacy in a manner that made the threat appear less severe” and include information on violent left-wing groups. Wolf apparently asked for a copy so “it could be reviewed by policy officials, and so that information regarding the ongoing unrest in Portland, Oregon, could be added into the HTA.”

The end result, Murphy alleges, “will more closely resemble a policy document with references to ANTIFA and ‘anarchist’ groups than an intelligence document as originally formulated by DHS I&A.”

He also alleges a number of serious claims related to immigration policy, including that officials were seeking to get intelligence pertaining to the border “reinterpreted to fit the White House’s policy argument.”

The complaint (you can read the whole thing here) was released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee. Chairman Adam Schiff said in a statement, “This puts our national security at risk. We will investigate:”

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