FBI’s Secret Classification of Journalists and Politicians as Russian Disinformation Agents

Recently declassified documents reveal that the FBI covertly categorized journalists, officials from the Trump administration, and members of Congress as promoters of Russian disinformation.

This operation, referred to as “Round River,” aimed to frame negative information about former President Joe Biden, issues of corruption, and Ukraine—gathered from confidential sources—as disinformation from Russia. The so-called “Ukraine Story” implicated the Biden family, Burisma, Hunter Biden, and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.

In a statement, journalist John Solomon announced that the White House Select Committee on Government Transparency disclosed these newly declassified documents, portraying the FBI’s covert efforts to mitigate the Biden family’s corruption narrative during the 2020 election.

The White House Transparency Task Force, led by Solomon, released two sets of documents recently. These include a slide deck detailing Operation Round River and a spreadsheet related to individuals involved in the operation.

Interestingly, the FBI did not offer any comments on the matter when contacted.

Documents suggest a clear distinction within the FBI between “conduits” of Russian disinformation and “targets.” Republicans were categorized as the perpetrators, while Democrats were seen as victims.

Notable figures labeled by the FBI as Russian propagandists included former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Congressman Jim Jordan, and OANN correspondent Chanel Lyon. Conversely, Democratic influencers like George Soros and former Presidents Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were identified as targets of the operation.

Documents associated with the Russian Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) indicate that Solomon stated the operation was dismantled by FBI Director Kash Patel, who subsequently initiated an inquiry into its methods.

A senior official from the FBI task force noted in September 2020 that she was “essentially overseeing a shadow government” within the FBI, as per declassified documents relating to Trump’s prime-time address in July. This official, Nikki Floris, quickly sought to retract details regarding Chinese election interference before they could escalate within the intelligence community.

Floris reportedly expressed relief after a field office retracted a report before it underwent investigation, indicating that her actions were aimed at controlling narratives within the agency.

One of the methods employed by the task force to undermine concerns surrounding Biden and Ukraine included defensive briefings to Congress, aimed at informing lawmakers that they were unwittingly serving as conduits for Russian propaganda.

In August 2020, as Senate Republicans finalized their inquiry into Hunter Biden’s foreign financial ties, Floris and her colleagues conducted a discreet briefing, asserting that their work was being co-opted by Russian disinformation efforts.

Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson later stated in a letter that the FBI had failed to furnish any empirical evidence for their claims, suggesting that the true agenda of the meeting might have been to leak unfounded accusations to the press.

Johnson expressed skepticism, noting that the press conference had no substantive content, thus hinting it may have been leveraged inappropriately by the media to label him as a Russian agent.

Confidential Human Sources

The Operational Director of National Intelligence’s slide deck included negative information that FBI Confidential Human Sources (CHS) had flagged regarding the Bidens and Ukraine.

A Russian intelligence officer reportedly claimed that Ukrainian oil tycoon Mykola Zlochevsky was using Hunter Biden to infiltrate influential families as part of a broader strategy.

Another source raised alarms about the Bidens’ investment in Burisma Holdings, alleging that it utilized numerous companies to funnel dividends through questionable consulting contracts. This individual indicated that while the contract payments flowed to U.S. investors, the funds eventually reached the Latvian and Ukrainian energy markets, with money from Biden and his son’s investment channeled through a Latvian shell company.

It remains unclear how deeply the FBI pursued these leads. Neither Joe Biden nor Jill Biden’s offices responded to inquiries for comment.