Nick Schifrin:
In a word, no. They don’t know who, what or if anyone set out to target U.S. officials.
There was a panel of medical experts last year that concluded that it could, could have been microwave radiation. And that panel of experts pointed out that the Russians have researched using microwave radiation in the past. But senior administration officials still say they do not know if this is a foreign actor’s actions or perhaps some kind of inadvertent side effect of overly aggressive surveillance, or something else.
And, partially, it’s a range of apparent victims. Intelligence agents who work on Russia say they have had these symptoms, diplomats working in Europe, even a White House official late last year. And after that incident, there was a deputies meeting at the National Security Council. And they decided they simply did not have enough evidence to know what was really going on.
And that conclusion remains today. Take a quick listen to Secretary of State Tony Blinken last month.
Tony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State: We do not know who, if anyone, is actually responsible, state actor, individuals. This is exactly what we’re trying to get to the bottom of.
