posted July 21, 2020 11:02 AM            

Exclusive John Solomon & Seamus Bruner: Vice President Joe Biden Helped Sweep Russian Spy Ring Under the Rug
by John Solomon and Seamus Bruner
21 Jul 2020

The following is an exclusive excerpt from investigative journalists John Solomon and Seamus Bruner's new book, Fallout: Nuclear Bribes, Russian Spies, and the Washington Lies that Enriched the Clinton and Biden Dynasties.

Obama's advisors were divided. On one side were CIA Director Leon Panetta and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Panetta wanted to rescue their informant, a Russian asset who had exposed the domestic spy ring, and Mueller wanted to arrest the Russian sleeper agents. On the other side were the White House and the State Department, who wanted to keep the whole thing quiet.

Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and the diplomatic players agreed with the president. Biden and Donilon strongly argued in favor of sweeping the illegal spy ring under the rug.

Without a hint of irony, Biden said, Our national security interest balance tips heavily to not creating a flap. Obama's top officials apparently believed that bowing to Russia was in the best interests of U.S. national security and that punishing Russian spies would blow up the relationship.

Everyone agreed that busting the spy ring would blindside Medvedev, who was set to meet with Obama within days. But ignoring the spies or even letting them off the hook presented a dilemma in itself. Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered a solution: meet privately with Medvedev and reveal the real names and ranks of the nearly one dozen Russian spies and demand that they be recalled to Russia quietly and immediately. Obama did not want to embarrass Medvedev and agreed to Gates soft-touch proposal.

After Obama left the situation room, the advisors deliberated a bit more and agreed that the plan would still put Medvedev in a tight spot. They decided that it was probably best to quietly exfiltrate their informant and deport the Russian agents without informing Medvedev. That way everyone was happy...........