A WHISTLEBLOWER claims Department of Homeland Security leaders pressured him to water down intelligence assessments showing Russian election interference or other details that could be displeasing to Donald Trump.
In the complaint filed with the DHS inspector general and released on Wednesday, Brian Murphy claimed that he was demoted for not altering his intelligence reports in “illegal and improper” ways.
Murphy, a former FBI agent, claimed that DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf told him to stop giving intelligence reports on Russian interference threats because it “made the President look bad.”
The whistleblower added that he refused to follow Wolf’s orders because it would violate his duties to not provide accurate information.
Murphy alleged that Wolf’s deputy, Ken Cuccinelli, told him to alter a report to make white supremacy threats seem less significant, and to include details on left-wing groups supporting the Trump administration’s talking points on civil unrest following George Floyd’s death.
Trump appointees Wolf and Cuccinelli also directed officials to modify intelligence assessments to match the president’s misleading comments about the left-wing Antifa and “anarchist” groups, the complaint states, according to CNN.
In addition, Murphy alleged that former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and her deputies pushed him to inflate the number of migrants detained at the southwest border with terrorism ties, and that she used an exaggerated number while testifying before Congress.
Murphy was principal deputy under secretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis but in August was demoted to assistant to the deputy under secretary for DHS Management, and claims it was retaliatory.
In a statement emailed to The Sun on Wednesday evening, DHS spokesperson Alexei Woltornist said the department generally does not comment on Office of Inspector General referrals, “but we flatly deny that there is any truth to the merits of Mr. Murphy’s claim.”
“DHS looks forward to the results of any resulting investigation and we expect it will conclude that no retaliatory action was taken against Mr. Murphy,” Woltornist stated.
Woltornist referred to Wolf’s State of the Homeland Address on Wednesday and said the DHS is “working to address all threats to the homeland regardless of ideology.”
“The Acting Secretary is focused on thwarting election interference from any foreign powers and attacks from any extremist group,” Woltornist stated.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said it has requested that Murphy testify “alongside other already scheduled interviews with other DHS officials.”
“Mr. Murphy's allegations are serious—from senior officials suppressing intelligence reports on Russia's election interference and making false statements to Congress about terrorism threats at our southern border, to modifying intelligence assessments to match the President's rhetoric on Antifa and minimizing the threat posed by White supremacists,” Schiff stated.
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