The Department of Homeland Security intervened in July to stop the publication of an intelligence bulletin that warned of a Kremlin plan to push “allegations about the poor mental health” of Joe Biden, according to a report from ABC News. The draft bulletin was reportedly submitted to the agency’s legislative and public-affairs office for review at the start of July and, after a few days, it was ready to be sent out to federal, state, and local law-enforcement partners. However, a senior DHS official is said to have intervened and the bulletin was never circulated. An email sent by DHS Chief of Staff John Gountanis reportedly said: “Please hold on sending this one out until you have a chance to speak to [acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf].” The document reportedly focuses on Russia’s attacks on Biden’s mental fitness—one of the attack lines most-used by President Donald Trump and his re-election campaign. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said that the bulletin was “delayed” because it didn’t meet the agency’s standards. Democrats, intel officials, and election watchdogs have expressed outrage over new Trump administration plans to put all election-interference briefings in writing only, cutting off in-person briefings with little more than two months to Election Day.
