WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In its 2017 Intelligence Authorization Bill, the Senate Intelligence Committee is asking the White House to reinstate a presidentially-appointed group to unmask Russian spies and uncover Russian-sponsored assassinations in the United States.
"It is political theater," Giraldi, a former CIA and Army intelligence officer said on Wednesday.
The group, which would include personnel from the State Department, intelligence community and several other executive offices, would meet monthly.
Giraldi said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recognized that the proposal could force it to redirect its limited number of personnel to follow Russian or other diplomats instead of focusing on potential terrorists and other real security threats.
"The FBI won't waste its resources in following Russian diplomats around."
He pointed out that the initiative appeared to be entirely political in origin and that the motivation for it was an effort to make members of Congress look as if they were being more vigilant in protecting US national security.
"I was surprised that anyone thought this worth doing until I realized it was emanating from Congress, which inevitably explains everything," Giraldi maintained.
Along with spies and covert killings, the committee would also investigate the funding of front groups or cover organizations for Russian operations, "covert broadcasting, media manipulation" and secret funding, reports on Wednesday said.
The new group would be modeled after the old Cold War body, one US intelligence official was cited as saying in a media report.
The intelligence bill was approved by the Senate Intelligence Committee in May, and now must be passed by the full Senate.
Philip Giraldi is executive director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that advocates more even-handed US government policies in the Middle East.
