Erin Banco
Appearances
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
Western intelligence agencies believe Russia is behind two recent attempts to smuggle explosives onto cargo planes and maybe targeting planes bound for the U.S. Tom Costello is with us. Tom, this is quite concerning. What have you learned?
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
I would say it's very clear from officials we've spoken to both in this administration and in the prior administration that our intelligence, U.S. intelligence, European intelligence, still shows that Russia poses a threat both to the U.S. and to Europe. in regard to its hybrid warfare campaign or its sabotage campaign, that threat has not gone away.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
We've spoken to several very senior intelligence officials about this fact. This intelligence has been circulated as recently as last week here in the U.S. and in Europe. But it's very clear from the conversations we've had over the last month or two that this administration does not view the countering of Russia's hybrid warfare campaign as a priority.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
This was a very high priority for the prior administration, a program they stood up in 2024 to across the interagency track, combat this campaign, both in Europe and potentially in the U.S., And a huge part of that was coordinating with Europe. So that included everything from sharing intelligence to drawing up strategies for trying to counter Russia's campaign.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
So it was a massive priority for the Biden administration and something Biden officials briefed Trump officials on right before they left, urging them to continue this program.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
Yeah, that's a really good question. Local law enforcement in many of these countries are leading the way in terms of investigations looking at some of these sabotage acts. But I should note, it's not just sabotage acts. It's not just arson attacks we're talking about here. We're talking about everything from arson to influence campaigns and political elections to cyber intrusions.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
And a huge part of what the U.S. did under Biden was shared critical intelligence. on not only the unfolding sabotage plots, but on what was going on in the cyberspace as well. And so what happens when the US pulls back or deprioritizes something like this is that the coordination in terms of intelligence sharing then gets lost. I should note that there's no evidence that
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
Sort of the systematic intelligence that gets shared from the U.S. and Europe has ceased. But there was this coordinated effort by the White House in particular, the National Security Council, the FBI, DHS, where a lot of those conversations were happening. That is no longer. And so when the U.S.
The Rachel Maddow Show
U.S. under Trump backs off countering Russian sabotage campaign in Europe
pulls back from something like that, you lose a lot of not only the coordination, but the intelligence as well.