Kremlin informants whose information two years ago warned about Russia's plans to interfere with the presidential election have mostly gone silent, leaving the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies in the dark about what Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin have planned for November, according to American officials.
It's not believed that the sources have been killed or compromised, reports The New York Times, but rather are keeping quiet because of Moscow's more aggressive actions, including the nerve agent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain earlier this year.
Moscow's expulsion of American intelligence officers has also hurt intelligence efforts, as has the outing of an FBI informant who had been assigned to investigate Russian spying on President Donald Trump's campaign, current and former intelligence officials told the Times.
Even without the informants, officials, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, warn Russia still plans to interfere with the election, but agencies have not been able to say exactly what Putin has planned.
Russian communications are still being intercepted, the officials said, and Russian informants are likely to keep meeting their CIA handlers away from Russia, but informants close to or inside the Kremlin still remain vital to intelligence gathering.
Coats has issued several warnings, saying Putin in particular wants to undermine U.S. democratic systems.
During a White House appearance earlier this month, he said intelligence agencies "continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try and weaken and divide the United States." He added that those efforts "cover issues relevant to the elections."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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