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The Central Intelligence Agency has come under fire after sending an unclassified email listing newly hired employees to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a move critics warn could expose intelligence officers to foreign adversaries and create a major counterintelligence risk.
Some shit you should know before you read: The CIA’s new director, John Ratcliffe, has vowed to reform the agency and root out anyone in the agency he perceives as having political “biases,” while shifting its primary focus toward countering China. Under his leadership, the CIA has expanded its China mission center and increased funding for China-related intelligence operations, continuing a trend started under former Director William Burns. As part of a broader restructuring effort, Ratcliffe has also introduced buyout offers aimed at reducing the agency’s workforce, particularly among long-serving officers. The “deferred resignation” program allows employees to leave voluntarily while receiving continued pay through September, a move Ratcliffe argues will create room for new leadership and fresh talent aligned with the Administration’s national security priorities.
What’s going on now: Yesterday, news broke that OPM received an unclassified email from the CIA containing a list of employees hired in the past two years, sparking intense security concerns. The list included first names and last initials of probationary employees, many of whom were recently recruited to work on China-related intelligence operations. Critics argue that sending this sensitive information over an unclassified system jeopardizes national security, as foreign adversaries like China and Russia could easily cross-reference public records, social media, and government databases to identify and target CIA officers. Some former intelligence officials have gone even further, speculating that the move was not just reckless but deliberate—an effort to expose agents hired under the Biden administration and force their resignations under the guise of their covers being blown.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called it a “disastrous national security development,” warning that it puts a direct target on the backs of intelligence officers working on sensitive operations. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, expressed similar outrage, saying that the “avoidable security risk” could have grave consequences for young intelligence officers just beginning their careers.
This all comes as the White House and the CIA have remained largely silent, with only an aide to Director Ratcliffe downplaying the risks and insisting the agency was merely complying with the workforce reduction order. Despite this, there are now calls for the CIA Director to testify on Capitol Hill about why this information was sent on an unclassified email and who made the decision to do it.
