Trump’s DHS buried report on Russian scheme to raise doubts on Joe Biden’s mental health
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Helsinki (Screen cap).
September 02, 2020
Newly leaked documents show that the Department of Homeland Security in July suppressed an internal report about Russian intelligence services' efforts to raise doubts about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's mental fitness.
The documents, which were obtained by ABC News, were not meant to be released publicly but were rather "set to be distributed to federal, state and local law enforcement partners."
However, John Gountanis, the chief of staff for acting DHS chief Chad Wolf, quickly intervened and ordered that the report be delayed. What's more, the report has still not been distributed, ABC News reports.
The bulletin states explicitly that intelligence officials have "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."
The Trump campaign has regularly tried to raise questions about Biden's mental fitness, and President Donald Trump himself has labeled his rival "Slow Joe."