HomeMy WebLinkAbout07.18.26 Board Correspondence - FW_ Post by Catherine Herridge on X Whistleblower complaint was filed alleging the CIA, FBI, and other IC agencies suppressed.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
attachments, clicking on links, or replying..
From:Clerk of the Board
To:Jessee, Meegan
Cc:Lee, Lewis
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Post by Catherine Herridge on X Whistleblower complaint was filed alleging the CIA,
FBI, and other IC agencies suppressed intelligence about China’s operations during the 2020 elections…
Date:Monday, July 20, 2026 2:40:13 PM
Attachments:image001.png
Please see Board Correspondence -
Lewis LeeAdministrative Technician - ConfidentialButte County Administration25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 • Oroville, CA 95965T: 530.552.3326www.buttecounty.ca.gov | lelee@buttecounty.ca.gov
From: lance dreiss <lancedreiss@att.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2026 7:14 PM
To: Shared Mailbox Clerk of the Board <pcbs@countyofplumas.com>;
Assemblymember.Gallagher@assembly.ca.gov; Senator.Dahle@senate.ca.gov;
davidhollister@countyofplumas.com; sheriff@countyofplumas.com; District Attorney
<District_Attorney@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Nicolereinert@countyofplumas.com; Kitts, Melissa
<mkitts@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Soderstrom, Monica <msoderstrom@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Durfee,
Peter <PDurfee@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Ronald Owens <ronald@muzzledtruth.com>; Kimmelshue,
Tod <TKimmelshue@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Pickett, Andy <APickett@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Connelly,
Bill <BConnelly@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Teeter, Doug <DTeeter@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Beaudoin,
Jarett <JBeaudoin@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Julie Threet <julie4butte5@gmail.com>; Waugh, Melanie
<mwaugh@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Ritter, Tami <TRitter@buttecounty.ca.gov>; Teri DuBose
<Teri.DuBose@mail.house.gov>; Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.ca.gov>;
Stephens, Brad J. <BStephens@buttecounty.ca.gov>
Subject: Post by Catherine Herridge on X Whistleblower complaint was filed alleging the CIA, FBI,
and other IC agencies suppressed intelligence about China’s operations during the 2020 elections…
Public Record
Catherine Herridge
@C__Herridge
·
Apr 21
·
Listen
Summarize
“Multiple sources tell me that a credible whistleblower complaint was filed alleging
the CIA, FBI and other IC agencies suppressed intelligence about China’s influence
operations during the 2020 election targeting President Trump and his campaign.
Based on my reporting, China’s goal was to “impede” President Trump’s re-election
and "denigrate" him as a candidate. I understand the DNI is actively working to
declassify the records.
According to these accounts, the CIA, then led by Director Gina Haspel, would not
document the Chinese influence operations, in a formal way, out of concern that
President Trump would use the intelligence to his advantage.
Based on the complaint, senior intelligence officials are accused of heavy-handed
editing of the whistleblower’s reports about China’s sweeping influence operations
during the 2020 election cycle.
In some instances, senior CIA officials are accused of taking “pen to paper” to strike
sections because “the intelligence assessments would help Trump.” I am told some
track changes make “specific reference to domestic politics.”
A senior intelligence official emphasized that in 2020 China was not held to the same
standard as Russia and other adversaries, including North Korea, Iran and its proxy
Hezbollah. The official said Chinese influence operations were consistently
“downplayed,” while Russia’s activities were routinely “amplified.”
The official added that the CIA was “driving political bias” in the intelligence
assessments as well as the need to “massage” the President’s Daily Brief. Known as
the "PDB," it is a highly classified summary of intelligence and analysis on national
security.
For calling out the apparent suppression of China intelligence targeting President
Trump before the 2020 Presidential election, the whistleblower was allegedly
retaliated against. The alleged retaliation included:
· Change in the whistleblower’s job responsibilities
· Threats to destroy their reputation
· The “dissent” report that challenged the majority view about China’s
election activities was allegedly altered and the “confidence level”
downgraded
Independent, publicly available cyber security reports appear to back up the
whistleblower’s allegations that intelligence was suppressed about China’s activities in
2020.
In April 2020 a classified intelligence assessment found Beijing was ramping up
activities in advance of the US election.
The April 2020 report was eventually declassified and publicly released two years
later by the Biden Administration’s top intelligence official, Avril Haines.
The Intelligence Community assessment called “Cyber Operations Enabling
Expansive Digital Authoritarianism" warned that “Chinese intelligence officials
analyzed multiple US states’ election voter registration data ... to conduct public
opinion analysis on the 2020 US general election.”
The assessment went further suggesting that China and Russia were “increasing their
ability to analyze and manipulate large quantities of personal information in ways
that will allow them to more effectively target and influence ... individuals and groups
in the United States and allied countries.”
NOTE: This US intelligence community analysis is the one of the earliest, if not the
earliest, warning that China was analyzing US election data in the 2020 election
cycle.
Based on my reporting, by May 2020, there was a general consensus among the
intelligence agencies that China was planning a “potentially huge campaign”
targeting the upcoming Presidential election.
The Chinese Community Party’s (CCP) effort was considered to be much bigger than
similar election campaigns launched by Russia because the CCP campaign would be
executed across multiple domains.
At that time, the US intelligence community believed China had not “flipped the
switch” on its election interference activities.
But a month later, in June 2020, an uptick in Chinese activity was identified. I
understand the Intelligence streams indicated the Chinese influence campaign had
already begun.
As one government contact put it, "If the IC (intelligence community) was
suppressing the China intelligence in 2020, what else was it suppressing?"
There was no immediate response to our reporting from the Chinese Embassy in
Washington DC.
Later, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy disputed the 2020 election
intelligence, and stated, "On the issue of the US election, China's position has always
been consistent and clear.
The US presidential election and related personnel appointments are internal affairs
of the United States. We have no intention and will not interfere."
There is ongoing investigation into the whistleblower complaint and alleged
retaliation by the intelligence community watchdog. A spokesperson for the Director
of National Intelligence declined to comment.
In response to our questions, which included alleged political bias on then CIA
Director Haspel's watch, a CIA spokesperson provided this statement:
"Director Ratcliffe was among the first to raise alarms about China’s efforts to
influence the 2020 election. While serving as DNI, he publicly held the Intelligence
Community accountable following the Foreign Threats to the 2020 U.S. Elections ICA
(Intelligence Community Assessment) citing inconsistencies, violations of analytic
tradecraft standards, and an assessment that failed to fully reflect the scope of
China’s election influence activities relative to Russia’s. At CIA, Director Ratcliffe is
committed to ensuring intelligence assessments are produced and evaluated
objectively and in accordance with rigorous analytic tradecraft standards. The
integrity of our elections is critical to our republic, and Director Ratcliffe has made
clear that America’s adversaries will be exposed and held accountable for any
attempt to undermine it." --CIA Director of Public Affairs Liz Lyons“
https://x.com/c__herridge/status/2046665072798212389?s=43
diana dreiss