On September 13, 2024, the Biden administration issued a statement alleging that RT, Russia’s state-owned broadcaster, is essentially an arm of Russia’s intelligence services.
Evidence-free allegations, yet again
The administration claimed that its allegations were based in part on information provided by RT employees, but it didn’t name any of those employees. It disclosed no objective, credible evidence to support its claims.
The absence of evidence did not prevent other Western governments from following the U.S. lead.
Within hours of the Biden administration issuing its accusations against RT, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly levelled the same allegation. She, too, provided zero evidence to back up her claims.
The scam that never sleeps
What in fact does the available evidence show about allegations that Russia’s government covertly interferes in the politics of Western states?
I’ve argued repeatedly that Western government claims of foreign interference are largely a scam.
To delve deeper into the allegations, I spoke this week with former CIA case officer and analyst, John Kiriakou.
Punished for blowing the whistle on U.S. torture
Kiriakou was the first U.S. government official to confirm that waterboarding was used to interrogate al-Qaeda prisoners, which he described as torture. In 2012, John became the only CIA officer to be convicted for exposing the CIA’s torture program. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Kiriakou is now an author and journalist. He is also a founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity.
According to Kiriakou, U.S. government claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections have been debunked, almost entirely.
Kiriakou also believes that the Biden administration’s most recent claims against RT are a big, fat nothing-burger.
Finally, I discussed with Kiriakou the extent to which the CIA has penetrated the corporate media. Based on his experience and knowledge of the CIA, U.S. intelligence has co-opted American ‘journalists’.
You can watch and listen to our discussion here:
