Trumped-up intelligence

Zack, Jenn, and Alex discuss a striking new whistleblower complaint about US intelligence under Trump from DHS official Brian Murphy. They run through a series of examples of twisting intelligence, including at least one potentially criminal offense, on topics ranging from immigration to Russian election interference to white nationalist terrorism — and zoom out to discuss how credible these complaints are and why, if true, they paint such a damning picture of US foreign policy under Trump. References: Here is the whistleblower complaint. Jenn referenced a Center for Public Integrity report on Guatemala. She also mentioned that former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, accused of perjury in the whistleblower complaint, lied about the administration’s family separation policy before.  Alex wrote on the US intelligence community’s findings in 2019 that contradict Trump’s worldview. Zack referenced how some top Department of Homeland Security officials mentioned in the whistleblower complaint are in their roles illegally. This is the statement by top US intelligence official Bill Evanina on election interference, which mentions China’s efforts before Russia’s. Zack has a great Vox explainer on what antifa actually is, and isn’t. Alex reported the comments from the senior White House official implicating National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Twitter. Hosts: Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox   Consider contributing to Vox: If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts   Survey: We are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here: voxmedia.com/podsurvey.   More to explore: Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.   About Vox: Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.   Follow Us: Vox.com  Newsletter: Vox Sentences  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices