Petition updateProsecute President Trump & V​.​P. Pence, et al., for Treason & Misprision of TreasonCNN: Trump's State Dept. Granted U.S. Visas to 150 Russian Spies
Ray S. ClineWashington, DC, United States
Jul 7, 2017 — CNN: Since the November election, US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have detected an increase in suspected Russian intelligence officers entering the US under the guise of other business, according to multiple current and former senior US intelligence officials. The Russians are believed to now have nearly 150 suspected intelligence operatives in the US, these sources said. Officials say the Russians are replenishing their ranks after the US in December expelled 35 Russian diplomats suspected of spying in retaliation for election-meddling. "The concerning point with Russia is the volume of people that are coming to the US. They have a lot more intelligence officers in the US" compared to what they have in other countries, one of the former intelligence officials says. ... Fueling law enforcement officials' concern is that the Russians are targeting people in the US who can provide access to classified information, in addition to ongoing efforts to hack the US government for intelligence, according to several of the officials. Russian spies are trying to gain employment at places with sensitive information as part of their intelligence-gathering efforts, the sources say. But that hasn't stopped the Trump State Department from issuing temporary duty visas — also known as TDY — to suspected Russian intelligence officers. US intelligence officials who spoke to CNN expressed concerns about the number of temporary visas the State Department has issued to Russian travelers. Even after the meddling in the US elections in 2016, the US has been slow to take measures to respond to the intelligence threat, current and former US officials say. Partisan political disagreements over the Russian activity -- and President Donald Trump's reluctance to accept US Intelligence community conclusions about Russia's meddling in the election -- has slowed efforts to counter the threat, current and former officials say. US intelligence is also uneasy about ongoing Russian efforts to infiltrate America's digital infrastructure. At a May Senate hearing on national security threats, top intelligence officials expressed concerns that the widespread use of cyber-security software in the US made by Kaspersky Labs based in Moscow could be used as a tool to accomplish that. The Russian-based company's anti-virus products have become popular in the US consumer market. US government agencies are concerned that Russian security services may be able to use the Russian software for espionage or to help access otherwise secure networks, according to US officials briefed on the matter. Kaspersky products are also commonly used in equipment bought by US government agencies. The top officials from the FBI, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency all testified at the May hearing that they wouldn't allow Kaspersky software in their computer networks.
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