The Department of Homeland Security withheld an intelligence bulletin, titled “Russia Likely to Denigrate Health of US Candidates to Influence 2020 Election,” which warned of a Russian scheme to interfere in the 2020 election by promoting “allegations about the poor mental health” of Joe Biden.
According to ABC News, the bulletin was supposed to go out to federal, state and local law enforcement partners on July 9, but was held up and never circulated after being submitted for review two days earlier: “According to the draft bulletin, analysts determined with ‘high confidence’ that ‘Russian malign influence actors are likely to continue denigrating presidential candidates through allegations of poor mental or physical health to influence the outcome of the 2020 election.'”
ABC News reports: “Just one hour after its submission, however, a senior DHS official intervened. ‘Please hold on sending this one out until you have a chance to speak to [acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf],’ wrote DHS Chief of Staff John Gountanis, according to an email obtained by ABC News.”
