[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
SILENT WEAPONS: EXAMINING FOREIGN ANOMALOUS HEALTH INCIDENTS TARGETING
AMERICANS IN THE HOMELAND AND ABROAD
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
COUNTERTERRORISM,
LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND
INTELLIGENCE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MAY 8, 2024
__________
Serial No. 118-62
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
58-217 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee, Chairman
Michael T. McCaul, Texas Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi,
Clay Higgins, Louisiana Ranking Member
Michael Guest, Mississippi Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Dan Bishop, North Carolina Eric Swalwell, California
Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida J. Luis Correa, California
August Pfluger, Texas Troy A. Carter, Louisiana
Andrew R. Garbarino, New York Shri Thanedar, Michigan
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island
Tony Gonzales, Texas Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Nick LaLota, New York Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Mike Ezell, Mississippi Robert Garcia, California
Anthony D'Esposito, New York Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois
Laurel M. Lee, Florida Robert Menendez, New Jersey
Morgan Luttrell, Texas Thomas R. Suozzi, New York
Dale W. Strong, Alabama Timothy M. Kennedy, New York
Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Elijah Crane, Arizona
Stephen Siao, Staff Director
Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
Sean Corcoran, Chief Clerk
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COUNTERTERRORISM, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND INTELLIGENCE
August Pfluger, Texas, Chairman
Dan Bishop, North Carolina Seth Magaziner, Rhode Island,
Tony Gonzales, Texas Ranking Member
Anthony D'Esposito, New York J. Luis Correa, California
Elijah Crane, Arizona Daniel S. Goldman, New York
Mark E. Green, MD, Tennessee (ex Thomas R. Suozzi, New York
officio) Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
(ex officio)
Michael Koren, Subcommittee Staff Director
Brittany Carr, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements
The Honorable August Pfluger, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on
Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 2
The Honorable J. Luis Correa, a Representative in Congress From
the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence:
Oral Statement................................................. 3
Prepared Statement............................................. 4
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Prepared Statement............................................. 5
Witnesses
Lieutenant Colonel Greg Edgreen, United States Army, (Ret.), CEO
and Founder, Advanced Echelon LLC:
Oral Statement................................................. 6
Prepared Statement............................................. 8
Mr. Christo Grozev, Lead Investigative Journalist, The Insider,
Der Spiegel, Bellingcat:
Oral Statement................................................. 12
Prepared Statement............................................. 14
Mr. Mark S. Zaid, Founding Partner, Mark S. Zaid, PC:
Oral Statement................................................. 15
Prepared Statement............................................. 16
SILENT WEAPONS: EXAMINING FOREIGN ANOMALOUS HEALTH INCIDENTS TARGETING
AMERICANS IN THE HOMELAND AND ABROAD
----------
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism,
Law Enforcement, and Intelligence,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:04 p.m., at
Room 310, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. August Pfluger
[Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Pfluger, Crane, Correa, and
Goldman.
Also present: Representative Swalwell.
Chairman Pfluger. The Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and
Intelligence will come to order. The purpose of this hearing is
to receive testimony from expert witnesses from the National
Security realm that will inform our understanding of Anomalous
Health Incidents, or more commonly known as Havana Syndrome.
I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Good
afternoon, and welcome to the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism,
Law Enforcement, and Intelligence. We are holding this
important hearing to examine Anomalous Health Incidents,
otherwise known as AHI's or Havana Syndrome, and discuss the
potential targeting of U.S. Government officials and their
families in the homeland and elsewhere. Although this issue has
recently gained significant media attention, the issues
surrounding Anomalous Health Incidents, or Havana Syndrome are
not new. Dating back to 2014, a number of us diplomatic,
military, and intelligence officials and their families have
reported major medical symptoms that have affected their
auditory and sensory motor skills. These issues became public
in late 2016 after a group of Canadian diplomats and U.S.
Government employees and their families assigned to the U.S.
embassy in Havana, Cuba, began experiencing similar symptoms.
After the reported incidents in Havana, Government officials
and their families began reporting similar symptoms in the
People's Republic of China, Vietnam, Germany, Austria, Serbia,
Australia, Taiwan, Colombia, as well as here in the United
States. Multiple agencies within the intelligence community
have conducted assessments in an attempt to identify the
factors that cause AHI's, or who, if anyone, is responsible for
these incidents. Unfortunately, none of these studies could
conclusively identify the causes of these incidents.
However, the State Department commissioned a study through
the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine
that found that, I quote, ``unusual presentation of acute,
directional, or location-specific early phase signs, symptoms,
and observations reported by Department of State employees to
be consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radio
frequency energy. Many of the chronic nonspecific symptoms are
also consistent with known radio frequency effects, such as
dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, cognitive
deficits, and memory loss.'' Since the National Academy's
findings, generally, the IC, the intelligence community, has
stood by their initial findings and maintains that the origins
of these symptoms are still unknown and not likely to be
derived from the actions of a foreign adversary.
Today, we hope to gain a better understanding of
anonymous--Anomalous Health Incidents to address this pressing
issue, and it is paramount that we acknowledge the gravity of
this situation. I think when you really look at what we are
doing today, it is to have a transparent discussion, to talk to
our 3 expert witnesses, to hear in a manner consistent with
what they went through, what the facts are. As Congress, the
role on oversight is so important. That is what we are doing
today. So, I am proud that this is a bipartisan effort and I
now recognize the Ranking Member, the gentleman from
California, Mr. Correa, for his opening statement.
[The statement of Chairman Pfluger follows:]
Statement of Chairman August Pfluger
May 8, 2024
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Subcommittee on
Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence.
We are holding this important hearing to examine anomalous health
incidents (AHI) and discuss the potential targeting of U.S. Government
officials and their families in the homeland and elsewhere.
Although this issue has recently gained significant media
attention, the issues surrounding anomalous health incidents, or
Havanna Syndrome, are not new.
Dating back to 2014, a number of U.S. diplomatic, military, and
intelligence officials and their families have reported major medical
symptoms that have affected their auditory and sensory motor skills.
These issues became public in late 2016 after a group of Canadian
diplomats and U.S. Government employees and their families, assigned to
the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba began experiencing similar symptoms.
After the reported incidents in Havana, Government officials and
their families began reporting similar symptoms in the People's
Republic of China, Vietnam, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Australia,
Taiwan, Colombia, and here in the United States.
Multiple agencies within the intelligence community (IC) have
conducted assessments in an attempt to identify the factors that cause
AHIs, or who, if anyone, is responsible for these incidents.
Unfortunately, none of these studies could conclusively identify
the causes of these incidents.
However, the State Department commissioned a study through the
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine that found:
``unusual presentation of acute, directional, or location-specific
early phase signs, symptoms, and observations reported by DOS
[Department of State] employees to be consistent with the effects of
directed, pulsed radio frequency energy. Many of the chronic,
nonspecific symptoms are also consistent with known radio frequency
effects, such as dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety,
cognitive deficits, and memory loss.''
Since the National Academies' findings, generally the IC has stood
by their initial findings and maintains that the origins of these
symptoms are still unknown and not likely to be derived from the
actions of a foreign adversary.
Today, we hope to gain a better understanding of anomalous health
incidents to address this pressing issue.
It is paramount that we acknowledge the gravity of the situation.
We must work to ensure that those suffering these debilitating
symptoms are properly cared for, and if foreign malign activity is the
cause of these anomalous health incidents, then we must take steps to
neutralize the threat actors responsible to include deterring their
ability to operate with impunity in the homeland, targeting our
intelligence professionals and diplomats but also putting the American
public in harm's way.
I look forward to hearing this distinguished panel today and
working in a bipartisan fashion to understand the facts related to
anomalous health incidents and find solutions to address these issues.
Mr. Correa. Thank you Mr. Chairman. I agree with you. This
is an important issue. Deals with the health and welfare of our
Government officials as well as others. Thank you again, Mr.
Pfluger, and good afternoon to all of you. Welcome to witnesses
today. I am here today filling in for our Ranking Member, Mr.
Magaziner, who I am happy to say he and Julia welcomed their
daughter, baby daughter, to their family just I think a day or
so ago. So Magaziner, Mr. Magaziner, enjoy your time with your
beautiful family. Today's hearing has been called to examine
the Anomalous Health Incidents affecting a range of U.S.
national security personnel, including intelligence officials,
members of our armed forces, and diplomats. Sometimes referred
as Havana Syndrome, Anomalous Health Incidents were first
reported, as the Chairman suggested back in 2014, by U.S.
personnel assigned to our embassy in Havana. Many have
described the symptoms that were chronic and debilitating.
Sadly, these incidents have not been isolated to Havana. U.S.
personnel have reported such incidents as Hanoi, Vienna,
London, Moscow, as well as here in the United States. In
Washington, DC, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. There have been
several investigations into the cause of these incidents,
including a study by the National Academy of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine, several studies by JASON, an
independent group of expert scientists, a brain imaging study
by the University of Pennsylvania, as well as others. That list
is not exhaustive.
Today we have the privilege of hearing from retired
Lieutenant Colonel Greg Edgreen among our witnesses who ran the
Pentagon's investigation into these situations. We also
understand the Intelligence and Foreign Service Affairs
committees have been engaged in an intensive bipartisan
oversight of these Anomalous Health Incidences for a while now.
Last year the intelligence community completed a coordinated
assessment regarding the causes of these incidents and found no
evidence of adversary--adversarial activity. I know the lack of
a finding in these cases after nearly 8 years of incidences is
a source of frustration for the victims, and frankly, for all
of us as well. I am pleased that recently the Biden
administration came out with a statement that they will
continue to conduct comprehensive examinations of these effects
and their possible causes. The Director of National
Intelligence, Ms. Avril Haines, reiterated these comments in
her testimony to the Senate last week, stating that the
intelligence community is continuing its investigations into
what happened in these situations.
The committee, this committee, I should say, is dedicated
to working with their partners, the administration, and other
relevant Congressional committees to ensure that such
examinations, investigations proceed and that we take care of
our people. Let me repeat, we will take into, continue to take
care of those afflicted by the Havana Syndrome, and we will
continue to look for sources and causes. Mr. Chairman, I want
to ask also unanimous consent that Mr. Eric Swalwell be
permitted to sit in this committee and ask questions of today's
witnesses.
Chairman Pfluger. Without objection, so ordered.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With that, I yield.
[The statement of Hon. Correa follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. J. Luis Correa
May 8, 2024
Today's hearing has been called to examine anomalous health
incidents affecting a range of U.S. national security personnel,
including intelligence officials, members of our armed services, and
diplomats. Sometimes referred to as ``Havana syndrome,'' anomalous
health incidents were first reported in November 2016 by U.S. personnel
assigned to our embassy in Havana, Cuba. Many have described symptoms
that were chronic and debilitating. Unfortunately, these incidents have
not been isolated to Havana.
U.S. personnel have reported incidents in Hanoi, Vienna, London,
Moscow--and here in the United States--in Washington, DC, Virginia, and
Pennsylvania. There have been several investigations into the cause of
these incidents--including:
a study by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine.
several studies by JASON, an independent group of expert
scientists that advise the U.S. Government on sensitive matters
of science and technology.
a brain imaging study by the University of Pennsylvania and
another by the National Institutes of Health.
an intelligence community assessment.
And that list is not exhaustive. Today, we have the privilege of
hearing from Retired Lieutenant Colonel Greg Edgreen, who ran the
Pentagon's investigation into the incidents.
Committee staff have met with several others, including former U.S.
officials, scientists, and doctors who have been part of such
investigations or have independently examined the matter. We also
understand that the Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees have
been engaged in intensive and bipartisan oversight of anomalous health
incidents for a while now.
Last year, the intelligence community completed a coordinated
assessment regarding the cause of these incidents and found no evidence
of adversary activity. I know that the lack of attribution--after
nearly 8 years of incidents--is a source of frustration for victims,
and frankly for us all. But let this hearing serve as evidence that we
are committed to getting answers and maintaining and strengthening the
care provided to those who have suffered.
I am heartened by the Biden administration's statement last month
that they will continue to conduct comprehensive examinations of the
effects and the potential causes. Director of National Intelligence
Avril Haines reiterated this commitment in her testimony before the
Senate last week, stating that the intelligence community is continuing
to investigate what's happening with AHIs.
The United States Government, and this Congress, must look under
every rock to identify the cause of these health incidents. In the mean
time, we owe it to the men and women who serve this country to ensure
that the Federal Government provides them with every resource we can
muster to ensure they are taken care of.
This committee is dedicated to working with our partners in the
administration, and on other relevant Congressional committees, to
ensure that such examinations proceed and that we take care of our
people.
Chairman Pfluger. I think the Ranking Member and other
Members of the subcommittee are reminded that opening
statements may be submitted for the record.
[The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
May 8, 2024
Today the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and
Intelligence is meeting to examine anomalous health incidents affecting
our U.S. Government personnel--both abroad and here in the homeland.
Since 2016, U.S. officials have reported nearly 1,500 cases of
anomalous health incidents or ``Havana Syndrome.'' Affected officials
have reported physical symptoms that began while on official
assignments not only in Havana, but in Germany, China, Colombia, and in
Washington, DC--to name just a few locations. Since reports began in
2016, there have been several theories about the cause of the anomalous
health incidents, including the possibility that symptoms could be the
result of attacks by foreign adversaries.
In March 2023, the intelligence community concluded that it is
``very unlikely'' a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported
AHIs. However--all intelligence community agencies, and I quote, `` . .
. agree that U.S. personnel sincerely and honestly reported their
experiences, including those that were painful or traumatic . . . ''.
A recent study by the National Institutes of Health, which analyzed
MRI brain scans of the affected Government officials, confirmed the
very real symptoms of the affected participants. I am a firm believer
in leaving no stone unturned, so it is imperative that the intelligence
community and others continue to collect information and analyze any
new evidence. We owe it to our public servants to not only continue
providing care to affected employees, but also to scrutinize possible
causes and remain vigilant against threats. I am confident that the
Biden administration will do just that.
In contrast to the Trump administration, which was criticized by
affected employees, the public, and bipartisan Members of Congress for
failing to take this issue seriously, the Biden administration
undertook a rigorous review of available information and implemented
the ``HAVANA Act'' to ensure care and benefits for affected employees.
The Biden administration has also stated it will direct continued
studies into the potential causes of AHIs. Just a few days ago, the
Director of National Intelligence testified that the intelligence
community is continuing its investigation. I am glad to be having
today's conversation, and I look forward to hearing the witnesses'
testimony and recommendations for Congress.
Chairman Pfluger. We are pleased to have a distinguished
panel of witnesses before us today on this very important
topic. I ask that our witnesses please rise. Raise your right
hand. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give
before the Committee on Homeland Security of the U.S. House of
Representatives will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God? Thank you.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Chairman Pfluger. Let the record reflect that the witnesses
have answered in the affirmative. I would now like to formally
introduce our witnesses. Mr. Gregory Edgreen is a retired army
lieutenant colonel and a former U.S. Government official. He
led the investigation efforts for the Defense Intelligence
Agency into the causes of AHI's and who, if anyone, was
responsible for causing these incidents. Mr. Edgreen's career
has covered 8 countries and 3 U.S. embassies. He now serves as
the CEO of Advanced Echelon LLC, a company in the United States
with interagency experience leading AHI efforts. Mr. Christo
Grozev is an award-winning journalist and the lead investigator
for the Insider. He is also a member of Bellingcat Productions,
which looks to translate Bellingcat investigations into a range
of new media products. He was the lead Russia researcher at
Bellingcat until February 2023. His investigations into the
identity of the suspects in the 2018 Novichok poisonings in the
United Kingdom earned him and his team the European Prize for
Investigative Journalism. Last, Mr. Mark Zaid is a Washington,
DC-based attorney who specializes in crisis management and
handling administrative and litigation matters mainly relating
to national security, international law, foreign sovereign and
diplomatic immunity, and the Freedom of Information/Privacy
Acts. Mr. Zaid often represents former and current Federal
employees, including military officers, defense contractors,
and other national security professionals and whistleblowers.
Again, I thank the witnesses for being here today. I will
offer each of you an opening statement. I know you have
submitted those as well, so please, if you don't mind,
summarize it. We have a timer to keep to 5 minutes, so that
then we will go into the question-and-answer period. I now
recognize Lieutenant Colonel Greg Edgreen for 5 minutes on his
opening statement.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT COLONEL GREG EDGREEN, UNITED STATES
ARMY (RET.), CEO AND FOUNDER, ADVANCED ECHELON LLC
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman,
Ranking Members, Congressmen, it is an honor to speak with you
today and give voice to the unseen, the U.S. Government, AHI
survivors and their families. My name is Greg Edgreen. I stood
up and led the DIA's task force, which was in charge of taking
care of our survivors and determining the cause. For
background, I am not an analyst. I am a retired army and
intelligence officer. The following are my personal opinions
and do not represent the opinions of the Government. Given the
classification of this topic, many of my comments will have to
be made at a future closed-door session. As a country, we have
been here before. Most people think this all started in Havana
in 2016, the widely-reported Havana Syndrome. This led to the
United States withdrawing most of its staff and ending
rapprochement between Havana and Washington. But before Havana
Syndrome, there was the Moscow Signal. Soviet intelligence
bathed the U.S. embassy in Moscow with microwave transmissions.
The health effects were similar to what we see today. There are
many examples of syndromes and ailments from Americans injured
in the line of duty that the Government did not recognize for
many years, which were eventually proven Agent Orange, used in
Vietnam, the Gulf War Syndrome, burn pits during the forever
wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. In all of these examples, America
took too long to acknowledge these injuries, and our service
members languished without care.
Havana Syndrome is no different. The gaslighting of AHI
survivors continues to this day as history repeats itself.
Throughout all this, I learned America's best men and women in
national security are being targeted and neutralized in a
global campaign. AHI's have been reported in the press in every
continent except for Antarctica, with a large percentage of
these attacks occurring in the homeland. In America. In this
town, the impact has been that mission-critical Government
officials working abroad and at home are being removed from
their post with TBI's. Don't take my word for it. Nikolai
Patrushev, the Secretary of Russia's Security Council, wrote in
September 2023, and I quote, ``in recent years, hundreds of
employees of foreign intelligence services involved in
organizing intelligence and subversive activities against our
country have been neutralized''. The American people are losing
strategic warning and decision-making advantage in great power
competition. America's eyes are being blinded, their voices
muted, their ears deafened. This is emboldening our other
strategic rivals, such as China, and could encourage North
Korea and Iran to take similar actions with no repercussions.
We collected a large body of data, ranging from signals
intelligence to human intelligence, to open-source reporting
and everything in between. Unfortunately, I can't get into
specifics based on the classification, but I can tell you. At
an early stage, I started to focus on Moscow, and consistently
there was a Russian nexus. Since 2010, the number of
counterintelligence incidents began to rise, and so did Russian
gray zone activities. These included assassinations,
poisonings, sabotage attacks against NATO allies and others,
many of which has been documented by Christo. After talking
with the survivors who were hit in the United States and
abroad, I quickly realized these were no longer isolated
incidents. There were reports of CI incidents which included
harassment, room intrusions, houses being defiled, tossed, pets
poisoned, assaults on our personnel, officers and diplomats
being drugged, doxing, families harassed. Then an attack via
directed energy, a red line to many because of the debilitating
nature of these weapons, the U.S. Government never hit back,
and our Nation's hidden heroes continue to be targeted today.
Investigators often talk about motive, means, and
opportunity. First, let us look at the motive. When President
Putin says things like, if one looks into the security sphere,
new physical principles, weapons will ensure the security of
any country in the near-historic perspective, we understand
this very well and are working on it. If you know anything
about the Russian Ministry of Defense, this is referring to
directed energy weapons. Second, the means. Look at the
contract for directed energy weapons, which is uncovered by my
colleague Christo. Look at the open-source photos of Putin
awarding scientists prizes for innovation for weapons based on
new physical principles. Third is the opportunity. Of course
they can do this. As openly reported in 2014, 3 CIA officers
were stationed in Ukraine that year during a popular revolt
that overthrew Moscow's preferred leader. Later, those CIA
officers went on to other assignments and reported AHI attacks,
one in Uzbekistan, one is in Vietnam, and the third officer's
family hit in London. Despite this large body of data, the ODNI
said, there is nothing to see here. Everything is dismissed.
Last month, the NIH said there is no evidence of physical
damage, despite all survivors reporting the same symptoms. This
same study is now under review for its methodology.
I would like to point this committee to the AHI experts
panel, whose findings were released in 2022, which saw all the
same intelligence and information we did, but came to the
opposite conclusion of the DNI. They noted that the signs and
symptoms of AHI's are genuine and compelling, and that pulsed
electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radio frequency
range, explains the core characteristics. I think the bar for
AHI attribution was set so high because we do not, as a country
and a Government, want to face some very hard truths. Can we
secure America? Are these massive counterintelligence failures?
Can we protect our people on American soil? Is this an act of
war? Despite our history of walking away those from those who
sacrifice for their country, I am optimistic. With
Congressional support, with your support and an informed
public, it is time to take action. This is a nonpartisan issue
which has spanned several administration. Let us start to get
this right with Executive and Legislative action first.
Chairman Pfluger. Mr. Edgreen, I am going to go ahead and
if you can wrap up, we will get to the----
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Mr. Chairman, could I have 2
more minutes, please? One more minute?
Chairman Pfluger. One more minute is fine.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. We need to execute existing
funding with the Defense Health Program, which was allocated to
take care of the survivors and their families. We should fully
implement the Havana Act. We need a VA diagnostic code, because
right now there is none. We need to award Purple Hearts and
their civilian equivalents. On the Legislative front, we need a
new NDAA that covers this and a Havana Act. I would like to
thank this committee for their attention in this issue. Thank
you to Orianna Zill, Michael Ray, Michael Weiss, and Christo
for keeping this issue alive. I urge this committee to take
care of our unseen survivors, execute existing funding, and
most importantly, pressure the Government to fight back. Thank
you.
[The prepared statement of Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen
follows:]
Prepared Statement of Greg Edgreen
May 8, 2024
My name is Greg Edgreen, I stood up and led DIA's Anomalous Health
Incident (AHI) organization which was tasked to take care of our
survivors and determine the cause. For background, I am not an analyst,
I am a retired Army and intelligence officer and my career has spanned
8 countries and 3 embassies. I believe I was selected for this
position, which was my first and subsequently last HQs assignment, due
to my natural bias toward action and my experiences with Great Power
Competition. I am here to give voice to all USG AHI Survivors, and
their families. The following are my personal opinions and do not
represent the opinions of the Government. Given the classification of
this topic, some of my comments will have to be made in a future
closed-door session.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Please forward the original copy of this testimony to the
Homeland Security Committee if any portion of this document is
redacted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We, as a country, have been here before.
Most people think this all started in Havana in 2016, the widely-
reported ``Havana Syndrome'', consisting of mysterious health incidents
impacting foreign embassy staff living in Cuba. This led to the United
States withdrawing most of its embassy staff and suspending consular
services in 2017 while ending rapprochement between Havana and
Washington.
Those attacked reported a range of conditions including
debilitating migraines, perceived sounds, dizziness, vertigo, fatigue,
nausea, anxiety, cognitive difficulties, and memory loss. Some started
to develop rare cancers, tumors, and heart conditions despite no pre-
existing or genetic conditions over time. In some cases, diplomats and
intelligence officers were forced to leave active service due to
complications from their conditions. Early reports were dismissed as
psychosomatic or cases of mass hysteria.
Before Havana Syndrome there was the Moscow Signal. From the 1950's
to 1970's, Soviet intelligence bathed the U.S. Embassy and diplomatic
quarters in Moscow with microwave transmissions every day. The health
effects were similar to what we see today. Again, the survivors were
accused of mass hysteria and told nothing about the causes of their
symptoms, until the Government finally informed the staff in 1976 at a
confidential meeting. The U.S. Embassy personnel immediately leaked to
U.S. newspapers, setting off a major scandal in U.S.-Soviet relations
and resulted in a Congressional Investigation which was completed in
1979.
As a result, about 350 adults who were Moscow embassy employees or
dependents were tested and compared with a control group of 1,000
diplomats present in the United States. Lymphocyte counts (a type of
white blood cells) from the Moscow Embassy subjects were an average 41
percent higher than the control group, proving that there had been
major health impacts.
Between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed millions of
gallons of ``tactical herbicides'' or Agent Orange over Vietnam. The
U.S. Government also denied Agent Orange was causing various types of
cancers, diseases, and heart problems until Congress took action in the
1980's and allocated money for care and compensation. With the VA
accusing the combat veterans of fabricating ailments.
The Gulf War Syndrome was finally proven last year in 2023, after
hundreds of thousands of combat veterans reported symptoms related to
their exposure to sarin gas. Again, the USG claimed the veterans
symptoms were psychosomatic.
Burn pits during the forever wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, led to
the deaths of thousands of service members, including the President's
son, who served in Iraq the same year I was there. The Government
denied the cancers and other ailments, and recently the 2022 PACT act
was passed by Congress.
These same wars also taught us about Traumatic Brain Injuries
(TBIs) from Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and that some wounds
have no entry or exit wounds, so we created the National Intrepid
Center of Excellence or (NICOE) at Walter Reed and started awarding
Purple Hearts to these attacks.
We continue to forget those wounded while serving their countries.
America has a long history of not taking care of those who were
wounded when fighting for their country, and Havana Syndrome is no
different. Except this time, a large percentage of the survivors are
not able to come forward and speak to the press or Congress, because of
their security clearances and bureaucratic regulations. They were kept
in the shadows by faulty IC assessments and NIH studies, where
wordsmithing and bureaucratic analytical processes made the case there
was nothing to see.
The gaslighting of AHI survivors continues to this day in some
Government agencies, as history repeats itself.
America's best men and women in national security are being
targeted and neutralized around the world in a global campaign.
Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) have been reported in the press in
every continent except for Antarctica, with a large percentage of these
attacks occurring in the homeland, on American soil. They fought for
the American people and were wounded in the line of duty.
The impact has been that the intelligence officers, DoD personnel,
national security experts, and our diplomats working abroad and at home
are being removed from their posts with traumatic brain injuries.
They're being neutralized.
Don't take my word for it. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of
Russia's Security Council, wrote in September 2023 article that: ``In
recent years, hundreds of employees of foreign intelligence services,
as well as other persons involved in organizing intelligence and
subversive activities against our country and our strategic partners,
have been identified and neutralized''.
This is a victory lap that is meant to discourage other survivors
from coming forward, and sow division among our ranks. It's as if
Moscow is saying ``The USG turned their back on you and doesn't believe
you, and we know it. We will continue the attacks.''
Our best men and women have been removed from their posts, at home
and abroad. The American people are losing strategic warning and
decision-making advantage in great power competition with Russia,
China, North Korea and Iran. America's eyes are being blinded, their
voices muted, and their ears deafened.
This is emboldening our other strategic rivals such as China, and
could encourage North Korea and Iran to take similar actions with no
repercussions.
I would like to briefly talk about our investigation. We were
collecting a large body of data, ranging from signals intelligence, to
human intelligence, to open-source reporting and everything in between.
Anything regarding the internet, travel records, financial records, or
on-line activities. Unfortunately I can't get into specifics, based on
the classification.
But I can tell you at a very early stage, I started to focus on
Moscow.
One of the things I started to notice was the caliber of our
officers that were being targeted. This wasn't happening to our worst
or our middle-range officers. This was happening to our top 5 percent,
10 percent performing officers across the Defense Intelligence Agency.
And consistently there was a Russia nexus. There was some angle
where they had worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and done
extremely well.
I also noticed that a large number of attacks were occurring in
nations that were traditionally aligned with Moscow but starting to
develop relations with Washington.
AHIs resulted in the end of rapprochement between Havana and
Washington. The widely-reported attack in the news on 11 personnel, in
Hanoi on the eve of Vice President Harris's 2021 visit to announce a
strategic comprehensive partnership also endangered Washington/Hanoi
relations.
Who would stand to gain from such attacks? Havana? Hanoi? Or did
Moscow stand to gain the most, knowing that the USG would automatically
accuse the host nation of such attacks. Can you imagine? Non-lethal
directed energy weapon attacks against our diplomats, DoD, and intel
officers had such a strategic impact?
I don't know when it started but from 2010 onwards, the rules of
engagement shifted in the shadows. It used to be a gentleman's game, we
did not attack each other's officers and families. The number of CI
incidents began to rise, and so did Russian grey zone activities. Grey
zone activities which have been widely documented in the press by
colleagues at Bellingcat which included assassinations, poisonings, and
sabotage attacks against NATO allies.
After talking with the survivors who were hit in the United States
and abroad, I quickly realized these were not isolated incidences.
There were reports of counterintelligence incidents which often
included: harassment at customs and immigration, room intrusions,
houses being tossed or defiled, animals and pets poisoned, assaults on
our personnel, officers and diplomats being drugged, doxxing--where
foreign news outlets published the personal information about our
officers, cars being vandalized, families harassed and followed, then
an attack, via directed energy, a red line to many, because of the
debilitating nature of these weapons.
The U.S. Government never hit back and the problem continues to
this day.
Despite all of this our group maintained neutrality to avoid
confirmation bias by conducting deep dives into all great power
competitors, but I still kept coming back to Moscow.
People in the FBI often talk about motive, means, and opportunity
when it comes to their investigations.
Motive.--Look at Putin and Lavrov recent comments.
President Putin said at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum last
September ``If one looks into the security sphere, new physical
principles weapons will ensure the security of any country in the near-
historic perspective. We understand this very well and are working on
it,''
According to Russia's Ministry of Defense website, ``weapons based
on new physical principles'' involves the use of novel technologies
like directed energy and pulsed radio frequency.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the United States is
``directly at war'' with Moscow at a U.N. general Assembly meeting the
same month.
The motive is there.
Means.--Look at the contract for directed energy weapons which was
uncovered by my colleague and documented in the press. Look at open-
source photos of President Putin awarding scientists Presidential
Prizes in Science and Innovation for their work in weapons based on new
physical principles which ``may be used in the fight against
terrorism.''
Opportunity.--who has a global footprint and a robust capability
here in the homeland, where have we seen their people around the
attacks? Look at the intercepts and on-line activities?
Look at some of the cases in the news. As reported by 60 Minutes,
for example, in 2014, 3 CIA officers were stationed in Ukraine,
Vladimir Putin's obsession. Two-thousand fourteen was the year that a
popular revolt overthrew Putin's preferred leader. Later, those CIA
officers went on to other assignments and reported being hit, 1 in
Uzbekistan, 1 in Vietnam, and the third officer's family was hit in
London.
Despite this large body of data, the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence said last year it's ``very unlikely a foreign
adversary is responsible.'' But the DNI also acknowledged that some
intelligence agencies had only ``low'' or ``moderate'' confidence in
that assessment. Last month, the National Institutes of Health reported
results of brain scans. NIH said there's no evidence of physical damage
despite all survivors reporting the same symptoms. This same study is
now under review for its methodology and promising care in exchange for
survivors to be lab rats.
The Director of National Intelligence says the symptoms probably
result from `` . . . pre-existing conditions, conventional illnesses,
and environmental factors.'' Yet, the DNI and those agencies do not
follow up with the survivors and tell them what those pre-existing
conditions or environmental factors are, which hurts the possibility of
long-term care.
I would point this committee to the AHI expert panel whose findings
were released in 2022, which saw all of the same intelligence and
information we did, but came to the opposite conclusion.
Departments and agencies provided the panel with dozens of
briefings and more than 1,000 Classified documents on a range of
scientific, medical, and intelligence topics. This information included
the findings of compartmented programs sensitive intelligence
reporting, and AHI incident reports and trend analyses. Affected
individuals also shared their personal experiences and medical records.
Their key findings included:
The signs and symptoms of AHIs are genuine and compelling.
Pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the
radiofrequency range, plausibly explains the core
characteristics.
Psychosocial factors alone cannot account for the AHIs.
I urge this committee to read the unredacted version of the AHI
experts panel which outlines more impactful information.
This report ended with the following: ``The panel was moved by the
experiences of individuals affected by AHIs. They deserve the best
possible care, as well as appreciation for their sacrifices.''
I think the bar for AHI attribution was set so high because we did
not, as a country, and a Government, want to face some very hard
truths.
Can we secure America? Are these massive counterintelligence
failures? Can we protect American soil and our people on American soil?
Are we being attacked? And if we're being attacked, is that an act of
war?
After what I learned in my Classified investigation, I retired from
the Army to start a company to help the victims. We hope to channel
Government contracts into treatment programs for the survivors using
allocated funds.
This problem has existed in one form or another since President
Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office and it is time to take a new path.
We need to take care of the survivors and seek attribution so we can
stop these attacks on our people.
Despite our history of walking away from those who sacrificed for
their country, I am optimistic. With Congressional support and an
informed public, it is time to take action. This is a non-partisan
issue which has spanned several administrations. America loves a good
underdog, and there is no greater underdog than this group of AHI
survivors we have.
We can do two things which will set this right, Executive action
and Legislation.
The first, is to execute existing funding in the Defense Health
Program which was allocated to take care of DoD survivors and their
families. As you know, Walter Reed is the central hub for U.S.
Government AHI care, executing this funding helps everyone.
We should fully implement the HAVANA Act to ensure payments are
made, and we need a VA Diagnostic code for AHIs to ensure proper
compensation and disability benefits for active-duty servicemen who are
not covered by the HAVANA act.
We tried working this from 2021 unsuccessfully, similar to our
efforts with Purple Hearts. We need to award Purple Hearts, Secretary
awards in the Department of State, and exceptional service medals in
the IC.
I am personally aware of 3 Purple Heart citations which were
halted; your Congressional follow-up on these issues would be extremely
impactful.
On the Legislative front, this issue needs to be covered in a NDAA
and a new Havana Act.
NDAA.--Congress should designate the DoD the central clearing house
for the U.S. Government on AHIs, in terms of care, attribution, and
they also have the tools for retribution. If you push this back to
certain agencies in the IC nothing will change, and their people won't
be cared for yet again.
Place these efforts under the cross-functional team, which should
be a 2-star billet which rotates between the services for 3-year
assignments, and is not an additional duty. Create a central reporting
hub for the USG, which doesn't exist. Triple Defense Health Program
funding for AHI care for the next 10 years to care for all USG
employees, their families, and Government contractors. And provide
funding for DIA and NSA and FBI to build up and maintain their teams in
perpetuity to help seek attribution.
Last, is another HAVANA Act. The original HAVANA Act was a step in
the right direction and helped thousands of American families. We thank
the original sponsors of the Havana Act and those in Congress who
continue to fight for the survivors on both sides of the aisle.
It should include contractors and active-duty personnel, and
reimburse for economic losses, similar to injury law, accounting for
both past and future potential earnings, there should no 12-month
clause, or a TBI diagnosis requirement, or a required Department of
State consultation for attacks abroad, the sudden onset clause should
also be removed to account for the low-intensity long-duration attacks
and others.
I would like to thank this committee for their attention to this
issue and I look forward to your questions.
I urge this committee to take care of the survivors, execute
existing funding, and most importantly, pressure the Government to
fight back in the shadows.
Thank you for your time.
Chairman Pfluger. I thank the witness. The Chair now
recognizes Mr. Grozev for his opening statement of 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF CHRISTO GROZEV, LEAD INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, THE
INSIDER, DER SPIEGEL, BELLINGCAT
Mr. Grozev. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, the committee Members.
My interest in investigating the Anomalous Health Incidents
occurred at around the time that there was the initial
publicity around the Havana cluster. As a journalist, I just
watched from the sidelines and believed that U.S. intelligence
and U.S. law enforcement are going to get us the truth. I was
looking forward to that. Until one day, I was approached
through a friend, a common friend, by a member of the U.S.
intelligence community in Europe, who advised me or nudged me,
asked me to look into this independently. I realized that there
is something possibly limiting the capabilities or the
willingness of U.S. law enforcement or intelligence to do a
thorough study. That is when I started looking into this as my
own investigation. Over time, it grew into a multi-country
investigation involving the Spiegel in Germany, the Insider in
Russia, and our colleagues from CBS 60 Minutes, with whom we
joined hands in 2023. I would like to present a summary of our
findings to as of this moment. But mind you, our investigation
is still in progress.
Based on extensive interviews with victims, victims'
families, and also analysts who agreed to talk to us, we can
now state that to our own comfort and conviction, there is at
least 68 incidents that cannot be explained away with
psychosomatic symptoms or pre-existing conditions. We have
taken those as the bare minimum that allowed us to create a
time space map, a time space map that allowed us to geolocate
these incidents and further match them to possible travel of
potential culprits. That was an important first part of our
investigation. We established that the Russian government, as
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen said, had the long-standing motive
and plans to develop something that they call wave weapons.
This is a term they use as a catchall term for both acoustic
and directed energy, electromagnetic weapons. This has started
back in Soviet times. There are several patents that we have
reviewed from the `70's. However, the real boost to this
program occurred in 2013, when President Putin created a
special RND Institute called the Institute for Prospective
Military Studies in Russia, which was tasked with, among other
things, developing new physical property weapons, including
wave energy. We know that there have been many awards issued by
this institute and that they do annual contests, closed-door
contests, for military engineers providing prototypes and
testing data on such weapons.
We've obtained documentary evidence that in 2017, a
military engineer serving in a commanding position in GRU's
clandestine sabotage and assassination unit known as 29155, was
the recipient of the annual award from this institute for a
project that was termed testing non-lethal acoustic weapons
suitable for use in urban warfare. Notably, the same military
commander was immediately promoted to a political position as a
personal representative of President Putin in the far east of
Russia. It is a very rare switch in a career of a secret spy in
Russia, which is usually given after a kinetic achievement, and
there are many examples in the past that I won't go into. Unit
29155 is the most aggressive clandestine sabotage unit of
Russian military intelligence that has been responsible, as
many of us know, for offensive operations, such as the
poisoning of Sergei and Skripal and Julius Kripal with
Novichok. A series of devastating explosions at NATO munition
facilities in Europe spanning 2011-2018. The poisoning of 3
Bulgarian people involved with selling weapons to Ukraine. We
have established that spies of this unit, including the
commander, Andrey Verano, have had sustained communication with
military scientists from Russian military institutes, including
the Institute for Prospective Studies, but also the 16th
Research and Development Institute, with specific competence
and background in researching the effect of electromagnetic and
acoustic waves on the human brain.
We have also established that a medical research facility
affiliated with the GRU in St. Petersburg has shown specific
interest in researching the effect of ultra and infrasound on
the human brain. A medical facility linked to that particular
institute has conducted research in a very rare medical
condition known as the Minor Syndrome, which we have seen
occurring among a sub-cohort of the actual American victims of
AHI. Crucially, we have established that members of this same
clandestine unit have traveled extensively around the world
under false identities and have been in the proximity of or
within feasible reach of, confirmed AHI incidents in at least 4
cases, including Frankfurt in 2014, China in 2016, and `17,
Tbilisi in `21. Further overlaps of people linked to this unit
we have seen in Belgrade and Hanoi. The totality of the
evidence uncovered by our team has proven that Russia has the
motive, the means, and the opportunity to have developed and
used non-lethal acoustic or electromagnetic wave weapons
against members of the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement
community. Members of the unit 29155 were present in locations
and at times directly preceding or coinciding with known Havana
incidents in at least 4 cases. There are many more that were
yet to discover.
I will close with just a personal statement. These findings
present not a smoking gun, but a very plausible operational
theory on the existence, origin, and culprits behind the AHI. I
expect the United States intelligence community will address
our findings on their substance, on their merit, including
providing alternative explanations for why these people, who
are known to only engage with kinetic operations, with
assassinations, poisoning, explosions, never in intelligence
gathering, were at the wrong time, at the wrong place, if they
continue to believe that none of this can be attributed to a
foreign adversary. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Grozev follows:]
Prepared Statement of Christo Grozev
Mr. Chairman, Dear Committee Members, I have investigated Russian
clandestine intelligence operations for over 10 years, and have served
as expert witness in many law-enforcement investigations of
assassinations or acts of terrorism perpetrated by RIS in Europe.
My interest in investigating the AHI arose upon the first publicity
around the Havana cluster of incidents in 2017. However, I then assumed
that the incidents will be best investigated by the U.S. law
enforcement and intelligence agencies who would have access to a wealth
of data that my team would not be privy to. And I assumed that was
happening in good order, until in 2020 I was approached by an active
member of U.S. intelligence who encouraged me to independently
investigate the ``ever-growing number of incidents''. It was then that
I realized that there may be certain self-imposed limitations in the
pursuit of the truth on this matter. A collaborative investigative team
from The Insider and Spiegel led by me began to collect data on the
subject. In early 2023 we joined forces with CBS 60 Minutes who had
been conducting their own investigation into the incidents.
I would like to present a summary of our findings as of this
moment--and our investigation is still on-going.
Based on extensive interviews with victims, victims
families, and medical professionals directly involved with the
early diagnostics and treatment of reported cases, we have
established that there are at least 68 anomalous health
incidents that cannot be explained away either with pre-
existing conditions or with psychosomatic symptoms. We have
geolocated and established the exact time line and these
incidents. This resulted in a time-space map that was later
used to correlate to the known time-space travel map of
clusters of potential suspects.
We have established that the Russian government has a long-
running R&D program to develop a class of weapons known in
Russia as ``wave weapons''--a cumulative term for acoustic and/
or electromagnetic directed-energy emission devices that may be
used as either lethal or non-lethal weapons. While the program
has its origin in Soviet times--and certain military patents in
this area was registered as early as the 1970's--the R&D work
in this area was boosted in 2013 through the creation of a new
entity by Vladimir Putin that was tasked to develop ``weapons
based on new physical properties including ray weapons and wave
weapons''. This entity, called the Institute for Prospective
Military Studies, has been running annual closed contests among
military engineers and scientists for the delivery of
prototypes--along with accompanying test data--of such weapons.
We have obtained documentary evidence that in 2017, a
military engineer serving in a commanding position in GRU's
clandestine sabotage and assassination unit 29155, was the
recipient of the annual award from the Institute for
Prospective Military Studies for the development of ``A non-
lethal acoustic weapon suitable for use in urban combat''.
Notably, this same military engineer was subsequently promoted
to a high-ranking political position as Putin's representative
in a region in Far-East Russia, a rare reward for a spy
typically bestowed in the aftermath of major success in kinetic
clandestine operations--for example the 2 Russian spies
involved in the Polonium poisoning of Litvinenko were promptly
offered a fast track to becoming members of Russian parliament.
Unit 29155 is Russia's most aggressive clandestine sabotage
and assassination military unit that has been responsible for
offensive terrorist operations outside Russia including the
Novichok poisonings of Sergey and Yulia Skripal, a series of
devastating explosions at NATO ammunition storage facilities in
Europe spanning the period 2011-2018, and the poisoning with
unknown banned chemical weapons of Bulgarian arms manufacturers
who provided weapons to Ukraine and the Republic of Georgia.
We have established that spies of this Unit, including its
commander Andrey Averyanov, have had sustained communication
with military scientists from Russian military institutes,
including the 16th Research and Development Institute, with
specific competence and background in researching the effect of
electromagnetic and electro-acoustic waves on the human brain.
We have also established that a medical research facility
known as the Institute for Experimental Medicine in St.
Petersburg, closely linked to the GRU and having documented
links to Unit 29155, has shown specific interest in researching
the effect of ultra and infrasound on the human brain; and a
medical facility linked to this institute has conducted
research in a very rare medical condition known as the Minor
syndrome known to have occurred among a sub-cohort of victims
of AHI.
Crucially, we have established that members of this
clandestine unit who have traveled extensively around the world
under false identities, have been in the proximity of, or
within feasible reach of confirmed AHI incidents in at least 4
cases, including in Frankfurt in 2014, in China in 2016 and
2017, and in Tbilisi in 2021; with further overlaps of other
GRU officers linked to the unit at the time of incidents in
Belgrade and Hanoi.
The totality of the evidence uncovered by our team has proven that
Russia had the motive, means, and opportunity to have developed and
used non-lethal acoustic or electromagnetic ``wave'' weapons against
members of the U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement community. Members
of Unit 29155 were present in locations and at times directly preceding
or coinciding with known Havana incidents in at least 4 cases, likely
many more that we have yet to discover.
These findings present a plausible operational theory of the
existence, origin and culprits behind the AHI. I expect that the U.S.
intelligence community will address our findings on their substance,
including providing alternative explanations to the presence of members
of Unit 29155 at these times and places if their continued belief is
the AHI may not be attributed to Russian intelligence services.
Chairman Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Grozev. The Chair now
recognizes Mr. Zaid for his opening statement of 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF MARK S. ZAID, FOUNDING PARTNER, MARK S. ZAID, PC
Mr. Zaid. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today and
testify about a topic that has mostly silently plagued our
Nation's intelligence, diplomatic, military, and law
enforcement personnel in some form for decades, and that is
Anomalous Health Incidents, or AHI's. I have had the privilege
of representing Federal AHI victims and their family members
for over a decade, years before the issue came to prominence
with the 2016 attacks in Havana, Cuba. I now represent more
than 2 dozen Federal AHI victims, as well as numerous lawful
whistleblowers from within CIA, DIA, ODNI, NSA, Departments of
State and Commerce, USAID, and the FBI. The victims are not
just selfless public servants, but they are spouses, children,
including infants, and even pets. These criminal attacks have
primarily taken place overseas on multiple continents, but have
also occurred on our homeland in Washington, DC, Northern
Virginia, Florida, and elsewhere.
As part of my first case, I was provided an unclassified
memorandum by NSA in October 2014, 2 years before Havana, that
revealed the existence of intelligence information concerning a
foreign adversary. ``With a high-powered microwave system
weapon that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate, or kill
an enemy over time and without leaving evidence. The 2012
intelligence information indicated that this weapon is designed
to bathe a target's living quarters in microwaves, causing
numerous physical effects, including a damaged nervous
system''. Today's hearing can only present a sliver of relevant
information. The overwhelming majority of evidence concerning
AHI's is hidden behind Classified walls, having had authorized
access to Classified information on this topic, but without
revealing that information, it is my view that the Executive
branch, particularly at the behest of and manipulation by
officials within CIA, is not truthfully reporting what it
knows. While I commend their acknowledgement that AHI victims
are suffering genuine and compelling health effects, I am
convinced that the evidence that exists in the Classified arena
directly contradicts the public conclusions expressed by
Federal agencies as to the origin, cause, and scope of AHI's.
That review of that evidence would lead reasonable people to
conclude one or more foreign adversaries are behind at least
some of these incidents and that numerous Federal agencies have
failed to fully undertake substantive investigations,
deliberately delayed collecting or ignored crucial credible
evidence, and have intentionally withheld information, even
from sister agencies so as to influence and manipulate their
decision-making process.
There is intelligence, scientific and medical evidence that
substantiates the existence of AHI's, and that some of the
attacks were perpetrated by a foreign adversary. That evidence
can be specifically identified in the proper Classified
setting. That said, there is a wealth of publicly-available
information concerning the history of directed energy, and
particularly its scientific, intelligence, and military
applications. I provide an overview in my written testimony.
Given the many years our Government has been experimenting with
developing directed energy weapons, why would anyone not
believe our adversaries are engaged in the same efforts? A
recent investigation by 60 Minutes, Der Spiegel and the Insider
identified potential credible links between AHI's and alleged
Russian operatives from military unit 29155. This included
activities within the United States. What was the Government's
response? CIA doubled down that there is nothing to see and
that it knew of and had already ruled out the same evidence.
That is a blatant falsehood that has infuriated many serving
members of the intelligence community because so much of the
evidence to the contrary is available to them in reports,
briefings, and cable traffic. Of course, this evidence is
Classified.
Today's hearing is not going to solve the controversy that
AHI presents, but there are many steps that Congress can take.
These include ensuring continual and consistent health care for
AHI victims, ensuring immediate implementation of and funding
for the Havana Act of 2021, as well as amending it where
necessary, investigating why law enforcement and other homeland
agencies have not been permitted to pursue AHI leads concerning
criminal attacks on American personnel, and instead CIA
analysts who do not possess the same skill sets or authorities
have been allowed to control the investigations, and require
the Executive branch to develop comprehensive standard
protocols that provide U.S. personnel and their families with
guidance as to risks involved and how best to report any
incidents. It is time for the U.S. Government to be on the
right side of history. I welcome the opportunity to try and
answer your questions and providing you with Classified
responses in the proper, secure setting. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Zaid follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mark S. Zaid, Esq.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Attorney-at-Law; Managing Partner, Mark S. Zaid, P.C., 1250
Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC. 20036;
[email protected]; @MarkSZaidEsq. A copy of my bio is attached at
Exhibit ``1''.
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Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Chairman, Ranking Member and Members of the subcommittee, thank you
very much for the opportunity to appear before you today and testify
about an incredibly important topic that has literally and mostly
silently plagued our Nation's intelligence, diplomatic, military, and
law enforcement personnel in some form for decades, and that is the
issue of Anomalous Health Incidents or ``AHI''.\2\ I applaud that this
public hearing is taking place. It is the first in over half a decade
and it was long overdue. It is essential that transparency and truth
control the course of this discussion. Neither sentiment,
unfortunately, has been present during every administration since the
1950's, regardless of the political party in power.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ AHI is the term used to describe a constellation of unexplained
and sudden symptoms, including the acute onset of audio-vestibular
sensory phenomena. I choose not to use the commonly used media term
``Havana Syndrome'' as I believe it inaccurately and unfairly describes
the phenomena. I further detailed why here: https://x.com/MarkSZaidEsq/
status/1450891097807392770.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
introduction
I have had the honor and privilege of representing Federal AHI
victims and their family members for over a decade; years before the
issue came to public prominence with the 2016 attacks on our
intelligence and diplomatic members in Havana, Cuba. I now represent
more than 2 dozen Federal AHI victims, as well as numerous lawful
whistleblowers, from within the Central Intelligence Agency (``CIA''),
Defense Intelligence Agency, Office of the Director of National
Intelligence (``ODNI''), National Security Agency (``NSA''), Department
of State, Department of Commerce, U.S. Agency for International
Development, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The victims are
not just our own selfless serving public servants, but their spouses,
children (to include infants) and even pets. These criminal attacks
have primarily taken place overseas on multiple continents but have
also occurred on our homeland soil in such locations as Washington, DC,
Northern Virginia, Florida, and elsewhere.
Today's hearing, however, can only present a sliver of relevant
information regarding a topic that primarily exists in the shadows. The
overwhelming majority of evidence concerning AHIs is hidden behind
Classified walls and you will need to doggedly pursue those avenues if
you truly want to understand the truth.\3\ Having had authorized access
to Classified information concerning AHIs, I shall not hesitate to
state that based on what I have learned to date the Executive branch,
particularly at the behest of and manipulation by officials within CIA,
is not truthfully reporting to the American people what it knows about
AHIs. While I commend Executive branch agencies and their leadership
for acknowledging that AHI victims are suffering genuine and compelling
health effects,\4\ based on the years I have worked this issue I am
convinced that:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ I hold an active TOP SECRET security clearance and I have
routinely been provided with authorized access to Classified
information concerning AHIs. Nothing within my testimony is intended to
cross any classification lines and I am solely relying on public source
and/or unclassified information for my written and oral presentation.
Please note that for purposes of the AHI topic, I am not bound by any
prepublication classification review requirement.
\4\ For example, CIA Director Bill Burns has publicly stated: ``I
want to be absolutely clear: These findings do not call into question
the experiences and real health issues that U.S. Government personnel
and their family members--including CIA's own officers--have reported
while serving our country.'' See https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/
01/havana-syndrome-cia-intelligence-00085021.
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The evidence that exists in the Classified arena, including
what I have personally reviewed or been told by first-hand
witnesses, directly contradicts the public conclusions and
sentiments expressed by Executive branch agencies as to the
origins, cause, and scope of AHIs;
Information on AHIs that has been collected and actions that
have been taken by Federal agencies and its senior officials
would lead reasonable people to conclude one or more foreign
adversaries are behind at least some of these incidents, which
should be described as attacks on our personnel and their
families; and,
It is evident that numerous Federal agencies have failed to
fully undertake substantive investigations, have deliberately
delayed collecting or ignored crucial credible evidence that
would lead down a particular pathway toward implicating a
foreign adversary, and/or have intentionally withheld
information even from sister agencies so as to influence and
manipulate their decision-making process.\5\
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\5\ One whistleblower who I represent filed an ``Urgent Concern''
complaint pursuant to Intelligence Community Directive 120 with the
intelligence community's Office of Inspector General that was deemed
credible and forwarded to the respective Congressional Intelligence
Committees. The complaint characterized CIA's behavior on this topic as
potentially constituting obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
That complaint is currently the subject of litigation under the Freedom
of Information Act in James Madison Project et al. v. ODNI, Civil
Action No. 23-3457 (D.D.C.)(APM). Through my law office, we are using
FOIA to obtain relevant, previously-unseen records pertaining to AHI,
and have litigated 7 lawsuits to date, including that of James Madison
Project et al. v. ODNI, Civil Action No. 23-00674 (D.D.C.)(TNM), which
resulted in the first public release of the IC Experts Panel report
from September 2022. That report, entitled ``Anomalous Health
Incidents: Analysis of Potential Causal Mechanisms'', contradicted
earlier Government findings and suggested that an unknown device or
weapon using ``pulsed electromagnetic energy'' remains a plausible
explanation. https://media.salon.com/pdf/22-cv-
674%20Final%20Response%20Package.pdf.
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There is intelligence, scientific and medical evidence that
substantiates the existence of AHIs and the attacks upon American
personnel overseas and domestically by a foreign adversary. I share
your likely frustration that in this public forum there are those of us
with relevant substantive knowledge offering what are certainly bold
claims but who cannot present specific evidence to support their
testimony. That, however, is the difficulty of addressing a topic that
lives in the Classified world. But to be clear, I would not be willing
to place on the line a professional reputation that I have earned after
more than 30 years of law practice in the national security arena if I
was unable to point to relevant documents and credible witnesses. The
evidence I have described does exist and can be specifically identified
in the proper Classified setting.\6\
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\6\ Thankfully the House Select Committee on Intelligence launched
a formal investigation into AHIs in February 2024 and is aggressively
pursuing the Classified angles. Exhibit ``2''. The Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence has also been a very helpful partner in
investigating AHI matters. I have been cooperating with both committees
for years. Several individual Members of Congress in the House and
Senate have also strived to ensure the needs of AHI victims are met.
Attention to AHIs should be, and largely has been, non-partisan in
nature.
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brief history--what is occurring today has been part of an evolution
There is a wealth of publicly-available information concerning the
history of directed energy and particularly its scientific,
intelligence, and military applications. From the days of Nikola Tesla
proposing concepts in the 19th Century of his ``death ray'' to direct
electromagnetic energy to disable machinery or personnel, to recent
patents to create a ``non-lethal and non-destructive electromagnetic
personnel interdiction control stun type weapon system'' and methods to
utilize beamed radio frequency energy,\7\ to active Department of
Defense (``DoD'') solicitations to ``develop a low-cost, low-weight,
small-size wearable radio frequency (RF) weapon exposure detector.''\8\
None of this is new. Just last year the Government Accountability
Office issued a report that ``DOD is currently developing directed
energy weapons with the goal of defeating a range of threats, including
drones and missiles.''\9\ Why would anyone fail to believe our
adversaries, some of whom are bound by far less ethical parameters, are
not engaged in the same efforts, or particularly focused on the use of
a weapon against humans? In fact, they have told us so.
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\7\ U.S. Patent, ``Electromagnetic Personnel Interdiction Control
Method and System'' (2010), at https://
patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c9/ab/51/1e8065605e339d/
US7841989.pdf.
\8\ See https://www.sbir.gov/node/1837879, DHA211-005 (2021).
Reasonable Question: Are any U.S. senior government officials or their
staff traveling with energy detection devices while overseas, even
though they publicly claim it is unlikely any foreign adversary is
responsible for AHI attacks?
\9\ Government Accountability Office, ``DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS:
DOD Should Focus on Transition Planning,'' April 2023, at https://
www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105868.
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The development of weaponry based on new physics principles--direct
energy weapons, geophysical weapons, wave-energy weapons, genetic
weapons, psychotropic weapons, and so on--was part of the State arms
procurement program for 2011-2020.
russian defense minister anotoly serdyukov \10\
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\10\ https://www.fpri.org/article/2024/04/havana-syndrome-the-
history-behind-the-mystery.
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I view this present controversy as involving technology that was
invented decades ago and has obviously evolved over time, and it
continues to do so. What we do not know, of course, absent the capture
of a device, retrieval of relevant intelligence documents or walk-in
defector, any one of which history tells us is likely to one day occur,
is the motive of the perpetrator(s). Is this technology designed to
activate surveillance or communication devices, extract information
from our cell phones or computers or incapacitate our personnel, or
perhaps a combination of those objectives?
Most obvious of the relevant history surrounding AHIs is the
existence of the ``Moscow Signal,'' which refers to a Cold War activity
involving the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. From the 1950's to the 1970's,
the Soviet Union aimed microwave radiation at our Embassy. This effort
was discovered by U.S. authorities in or around 1962. The microwave
emissions, detected in specific frequency bands, were believed to
potentially have adverse health effects and raised concerns among
numerous Embassy staff, including at least 3 Ambassadors, as well as
other senior U.S. officials. Indeed, according to recently declassified
records, in 1975 our Secretary of State Henry Kissinger asked the
Soviet Ambassador to turn off the beam during his upcoming visit to
Moscow.\11\
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\11\ Id. Reasonable Question: As did Secretary of State Kissinger,
has any U.S. senior Government official in the last 5 years warned one
or more foreign adversaries to stop what they are doing with respect to
AHIs?
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The motivations behind the Soviet's Moscow Signal are still not
definitively known, but hypotheses include electronic surveillance and
experimentation with health effects.\12\ This discovery led to Project
Pandora, a U.S. investigation into potential health impacts of
microwave exposure. The event was the subject of now-forgotten Senate
hearings which were described in a 1979 staff report.\13\ There is a
wealth of declassified documentation concerning the topic and to better
understand the current framework of AHIs the study of the history
record is invaluable.\14\
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\12\ In the course of my AHI representation, I was presented with
Kodachrome slides, dated 1972, that were found among the effects of a
deceased former CIA officer that highlight the use of the technology,
for purposes unknown. Exhibit ``3''.
\13\ https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/28799-document-15-us-
senate-committee-commerce-science-and-transportation-report-microwave.
\14\ Most notably, the National Security Archives has created a
vault of declassified documentation at https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/
briefing-book/intelligence-russia-programs/2022-09-13/moscow-signals-
declassified-microwave. See also https://www.wbur.org/npr/1047342593/
long-before-havana-syndrome-u-s-reported-microwaves-beamed-at-an-
embassy.
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As one former CIA official recently described:
``It may well be that the microwave bombardment of the embassy began as
a way to counter communications equipment on the roof, recharge Soviet
listening devices, or disrupt American surveillance devices, like those
listening in on the conversations of Soviet officials talking to each
other while riding in their limousines. But once the Russians realized
that the radiation was causing health effects--and their scientists
have studied this extensively--they continued to radiate the embassy
and began to weaponize the use of microwaves, developing smaller
microwave transmitters that could be directed against
individuals.''\15\
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\15\ https://www.fpri.org/article/2024/04/havana-syndrome-the-
history-behind-the-mystery.
I started working on AHI issues more than a decade ago.\16\ As part
of my first case, I was provided an unclassified memorandum by NSA in
October 2014, that reads:
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\16\ My original AHI client, Michael Beck, was a long-standing and
decorated NSA employee who was injured during the mid-1990's at a
still-Classified overseas location and, we believe, developed a rare
form of Parkinson's disease as a result. See https://
www.washingtonpost.com/local/was-a-spys-parkinsons-disease-caused-by-a-
secret-microwave-weapon-attack/2017/11/26/d5d530e0-c3f5-11e7-afe9-
4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/02/
havana-syndrome-nsa-officer-microwave-attacks-since-90's.
``The National Security Agency confirms that there is intelligence
information from 2012 associating the hostile country to which Mr. Beck
traveled in the late 1990's with a high-powered microwave system weapon
that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate, or kill an enemy over
time and without leaving evidence. The 2012 intelligence information
indicated that this weapon is designed to bathe a target's living
quarters in microwaves, causing numerous physical effects, including a
damaged nervous system. The National Security Agency has no evidence
that such a weapon, if it existed and if it was associated with the
hostile country in the late 1990's, was or was not used against Mr.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beck.''
Exhibit ``4'' (emphasis added). This was nearly 2 years before the
attacks in Havana, Cuba, occurred. Now I recognize that this statement
was very clearly vetted, if not written in its entirety, by NSA
lawyers. On some level, the document says almost nothing given the
carefully crafted and caveated language. But on the other hand the
document is astounding, especially post-Havana, as to what NSA had
revealed to me as part of a simple effort to help with a workmen's
compensation claim. I distinctly recall questioning why NSA officials
could not simply help my client receive compensation as doing so would
not open ``Pandora's Box''. I was very sadly and naively mistaken and
now understand why.\17\
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\17\ We sued NSA under FOIA to produce the intelligence information
described in the 2014 memorandum. The documents were withheld as
``intelligence products derived from signals intelligence and thus
properly classified.'' James Madison Project et al. v. NSA, 2023 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 111105, *10 (June 26, 2023, D.Md).
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the u.s. government's public pronouncements do not reconcile with, or
certainly do not address, independent credible evidence of foreign
government involvement in ahi incidents
In the aftermath of the publicity surrounding the 2016 incidents
involving our diplomatic personnel in Havana, Cuba, the Department of
State asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine (the National Academies) to analyze what occurred. Based on
the leadership of Stanford University's Dr. David Relman, who also
later served on the intelligence community's Expert Panel, the
committee determined that ``directed pulsed RF energy, especially in
those with the distinct early manifestations, appears to be the most
plausible mechanism''.\18\
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\18\ NAS, The Standing Committee to Advise the Department of States
on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their
Families at Overseas Embassies (2020), at https://
nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25889/an-assessment-of-illness-in-us-
government-employees-and-their-families-at-overseas-embassies.
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But in January 2022, the CIA released an interim report that
asserted a majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the Government could
be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or
stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power.\19\
Of course, no details were provided to explain what any of those
alternative explanations might entail. Conveniently, the fact that
approximately 2 dozen AHI cases could not be explained away was
ignored. The interim report was followed up by the ODNI's March 2023
report ``Updated Assessment of Anomalous Health Incidents'' which
claimed: most IC agencies have concluded that it is ``very unlikely'' a
foreign adversary is responsible for the reported AHIs. IC agencies
have varying confidence levels, with 2 agencies at moderate-to-high
confidence while 3 are at moderate confidence. Two agencies judge it is
``unlikely'' an adversary was responsible for AHIs and they do so with
low confidence based on collection gaps and their review of the same
evidence.\20\
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\19\ https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/1074338995/cia-report-no-
evidence-linking-havana-syndrome-cases-to-a-foreign-country. The
interim report is the subject of a pending FOIA lawsuit: James Madison
Project et. al. v. CIA, Civil Action No. 22-cv-321-(D.D.C.)(CJN).
\20\ https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=875802.
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The assessment, which was actually issued by just a fraction of the
U.S. intelligence community, found no pattern, forensic evidence, or
intelligence that indicated an adversary targeted personnel in many
cases. To the general public that conclusion is damning. To those who
can read between the lines and understand the terminology, there is
actually no reliable consensus among the intelligence community and the
conclusion is even doubted by some agencies.
More recently, in March 2024, the Journal of the American Medical
Association (``JAMA'') published 2 studies issued by the National of
Institutes of Health (``NIH'') that found ``no significant evidence of
MRI-detectable brain injury, nor differences in most clinical measures
compared to controls, among a group of Federal employees who
experienced'' AHIs.\21\ Given NIH's stated objectives for their study,
the findings were not unexpected particularly given the unfortunate
history that surrounds brain injury-focused research; it often results
in a lack of findings that are clinically helpful. Not surprisingly,
the findings were unfortunately exploited by the intelligence community
to support their public position that there is ``nothing to see here''.
But the absence of evidence is not evidence.
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\21\ See e.g., https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/
2816533; https://www.nih.- gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-studies-
find-severe-symptoms-havana-syndrome-no-evidence-mri-detectable-brain-
injury-or-biological-abnormalities.
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Many of my clients participated in the NIH study. At least two of
the listed authors on the JAMA articles from NIH and DoD were fully
aware that AHI victims had been diagnosed with traumatic brain
injuries, which is inconsistent with their reported study results,
particularly because they had signed off on the medical documentation.
The NIH study has also been compromised by ethical complaints that CIA
participants were required to join as a prerequisite to receive actual
medical treatment.\22\
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\22\ Prior to the publication of the JAMA articles, I notified both
JAMA and NIH of ethical concerns regarding the studies and offered
access to my clients and supporting evidence. No action was taken at
that time but since publication NIH has contacted participants for
information and indicated the study has been stopped for now. See
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/politics/havana-syndrome-victims-cia-
russia/index.html. Not surprisingly, many Federal agencies disseminated
the JAMA articles to their workforce as further proof that AHIs were
not caused by a foreign adversary. Disappointedly, and perhaps not
unexpected, agencies such as the State Department declined to also
disseminate the accompanying JAMA article authored by Dr. David Relman,
a member of the IC Expert's Panel, which challenged NIH's findings. See
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2816534.
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As this subcommittee knows, a recent investigation that aired on
March 31, 2024, by 60 Minutes, Der Spiegel, and The Insider, entitled
``Targeting Americans,'' which I participated in, identified potential
credible links between AHIs and alleged Russian operatives from
military unit 29155.\23\ One of my clients, identified as ``Carrie''
and a currently serving FBI Special Agent, also appeared to discuss her
attacks that occurred in Key West, Florida.\24\
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\23\ See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdPSD1SUYCY (full 60
Minutes episode); https://www.cbsnews.com/news/havana-syndrome-culprit-
investigation-new-evidence-60-minutes-transcript (60 Minutes
transcript).
\24\ I want to emphasize that ``Carrie'' appeared with
authorization from FBI after I negotiated the proper parameters for her
public appearance.
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Whether those in the general public who watched the evidence aired
by 60 Minutes, and followed up by articles published by Der Spiegel and
the Insider,\25\ were persuaded toward the particular conclusion that
Russian Military Intelligence Unit 29155 is responsible for some of the
attacks is not the important consideration. More important is what are
the explanations from the U.S. intelligence community to address the
many questions raised and evidence discussed in the segments? We know
that CIA Director Bill Burns, in the aftermath of 60 Minutes, doubled
down on the agency's view that there is nothing to see.\26\ False
claims have been made that the intelligence community knew of and had
already ruled out the evidence presented by 60 Minutes. This is a
blatant falsehood that has infuriated many serving members of the
intelligence community because so much of the evidence to the contrary
is literally available to them in reports, briefings, and cable
traffic. Of course, this evidence is Classified. This subcommittee,
however, can question the intelligence community concerning these
specific claims and demand answers.
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\25\ See e.g., https://theins.ru/en/politics/270425 (March 31,
2024); https://theins.ru/ en/politics/270717 (April 11, 2024).
\26\ https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2967083/cia-
doubles-down-on-see-no-russian-havana-syndrome-spin/.
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why would the u.s. government deny foreign government involvement in
ahi s?
Many no doubt ask why would the U.S. Government hide the truth
behind AHIs? I can present several possible explanations that are
believed to be at play, at least in part or in combination with one
another.
First, these attacks literally constitute an act of war, and one
where a response would conceivably be required. If it is true that a
foreign adversary has criminally attacked Americans on domestic soil,
how did the national security and law enforcement community fail to
detect and deter these events?
Second, our personnel and their families are largely unprotected
from these attacks, which often take place in their residences and at
some of the most desirable posts around the world. Can any precautions
even be taken going forward?
Third, AHIs are having a very profound and adverse impact on morale
and dissuading officers from accepting overseas assignments. Some
officers have even quit specifically because of AHI concerns. The
relevant workforce, which is comprised of many of our best and
brightest, do not believe they are being provided with sufficient
information or protection.
Fourth, the difficulties associated with identifying who over the
course of decades has suffered an actual AHI caused by a foreign
adversary and the costs involved for resulting medical care could be
astronomical, especially if baseline testing before deployment or as
part of the hiring process for Federal employees and contractors (and
their family members) is determined to be a necessary tool to help
identify future exposure.
Finally, there are questions that need to be legitimately raised as
to whether our own Government has utilized similar technology on the
adversary for various objectives, and/or that we have actually caused
self-inflicted wounds on our own personnel through the use of machinery
and other devices that have been operated or stored in their vicinity
for various purposes.
immediate issues that need to be addressed
Today's hearing is not going to solve the controversy that AHI
presents. At best, it will raise important questions that prompt the
committee to continue moving forward toward obtaining answers,
especially given the clear relationship to its homeland security
jurisdiction. But there are many steps Congress can take, both
immediate and over the long-term, to address AHI issues. These include,
but are not limited to (and in no particular order of importance):
Ensuring continual and consistent health care for AHI
victims from qualified medical professionals. This can include
requesting an investigation, whether by the GAO (which does
presently have a related investigation, as does the audit staff
for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence) or appropriate
Office of Inspector General, into the level and extent of care
AHI victims have received to date and are eligible for,
especially to hold any officials accountable for denial of
needed health care;
Ensuring proper and immediate implementation of and funding
for the Havana Act of 2021 \27\ (``Helping American Victims
Afflicted by Neurological Attacks''). The well-meaning law
unnecessarily and improperly limits the scope of awards,
particularly geographically and by date. Most distressing,
there are varying approaches and requirements being imposed by
Federal agencies as to how they are determining qualifications
for awards. Why should there be a difference between a CIA
victim or one who was serving the State Department? There are
also existing obstacles for active-duty military victims to
receive any compensation, although no DoD victim can currently
receive an award because the Department has not even issued
regulations that would allow its victims to apply.\28\ There is
little doubt that additional comprehensive legislation that
properly provides for health care and compensation for those
Americans who have been subjected to AHIs, regardless of date
or geographic location is required;
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\27\ Public Law 117-46, codified at 22 U.S.C. 2680b(i).
\28\ The Department of Justice only just recently issued its
proposed implementing regulations on April 19, 2024, and they will go
into effect later this month. See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/
FR-2024-04-19/pdf/2024-08336.pdf.
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Investigating as part of the committee's primary
jurisdiction why law enforcement and other domestic homeland
agencies have not been permitted to pursue AHI leads concerning
criminal attacks on American personnel and instead CIA
analysts, who do not possess the same skill sets or
authorities, have been allowed to control the investigations;
Requiring the Executive branch to develop comprehensive
protocols providing U.S. personnel and their families with
proper warnings and guidance as to risks involved and how best
to report any incidents; and,
So much more.
conclusion
This hearing is hopefully just the beginning of many to come that
will further pursue the objective of exposing the truth concerning
AHIs. Those of our public servants and their family members who have
been harmed must be cared for, and most importantly their current and
future peers must be protected from adversarial attack going forward.
It is time for the U.S. Government to be on the right side of
history.
I am committed to working with Congress to help address the
concerns we are discussing today, and I welcome the opportunity to try
and answer your questions in an unclassified manner, and to providing
you with Classified responses in the proper secure setting.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairman Pfluger. Thank you, Mr. Zaid. Members will now be
recognized in order of seniority for their 5 minutes of
questioning. If time allows, an additional round of questioning
may be called after all Members have been recognized. Without
objection, the Chair seeks permission for the gentleman from
Mississippi, Mr. Guest, and the gentleman from Florida, Mr.
Gimenez, to also waive onto this committee. Without objection
so ordered. I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of
questioning, and again, thank the witnesses for your
statements. I will start with you, Mr. Grozev, maybe give us an
idea of how this could happen in the United States. Talk us
through a scenario that you have investigated that technology
and location, things that we can kind-of put it into context
and understand in layman's terms.
Mr. Grozev. In terms of technology. I am not an expert in
the technology behind this, but I have read enough, and I am
sufficiently technically-minded to understand that there is
more than one way to achieve this same effect on the human
brain. One of the most disturbing denials that I have seen in
some of the publications leading up to our findings being
published was an attempt to create the impression that no
technology would allow this impact on the human brain. That is
provably untrue. There have been experiments that prove that
both acoustic waves, directed waves in the ultrasound,
primarily the ultrasound band, but also electromagnetic-
directed energy, especially post-nanosecond energy beams in the
millimeter band, through something called the Frey Effect,
which converts electromagnetic energy into an acoustic band
wave that can be within or without or outside of the audible
band can have the same effect on the human brain, which can
have long-term concussion-like symptoms, but in really
traumatic degree of concussion. So that is a given. I don't
think today we have the expertise to talk about that, but there
is sufficient evidence that that is possible. We also know that
the Russian intelligence operators has worked on that.
Something I would like to mention as well is that after our
publication, a former member of Russia's intelligence community
reached out to me and said, well, this is what we have been
working on since the `80's, because we thought that the
Americans were doing that to us, and we wanted to develop a
counter-technology for the same thing. So, of course, we are
doing that, which is interesting, because Russian intelligence
officers believe they are doing this, and American intelligence
officers are saying they are not doing this.
Chairman Pfluger. Did this individual, Russian agent,
remain anonymous?
Mr. Grozev. Unfortunately, for their own safety, I will
have to leave them anonymous. But it is a person with, in my
view, sufficient knowledge of exactly the intents, the red
lines that this entity would be exposed to. We know that
members of this unit have engaged with scientists who have
worked on a project called Reversal of Epilepsy Symptoms
through radio waves, which, for anybody known how Russia
intelligence formulates their findings for the public facing
domain, should read them as the exact opposite, creating,
reversing, essentially, the polarity might leave with the exact
opposite effect, creating epilepsy symptoms and so on and so
forth. This interest is long-running for the GRU, for Russia's
military intelligence. One last thing I will mention is that we
found that the only other place, other than among the cohort of
American and Canadian intelligence and law enforcement officers
who have been affected by this, that we have seen very, very
similar symptoms, was in a Russian school in 2017. We found the
evidence to this similarity in a hacked email box of a military
researcher from the St. Petersburg Institute for Experimental
Medicine working for the GRU. This institute showed uncanny
interest in exactly what happened in that school, where 26
children complained of exactly the symptoms that we have
received in this investigation from American officers and
diplomats. Again, it was this institute that followed up and
did research and may have been behind those incidents in
Russia, but we don't see them anywhere else other than around
Russian operatives.
Chairman Pfluger. Mr. Zaid, is it your belief that these
attacks have happened inside the United States? If so, can you
give us some of the locations and details that you can share
with us?
Mr. Zaid. Yes, without a doubt, they have happened here in
the United States. As I mentioned in my opening testimony, we
know of quite a number, and I would say perhaps the majority of
them were in the Washington, DC, Northern Virginia area. There
are also a number, particularly of FBI personnel down in
Florida. I do know of some other locations of which I can tell
you more about in a more private situation, not necessarily
because of classification, but for privilege of the individual
client not to reveal it. But there is no doubt there have been
quite a number of cases here, particularly relating to the CIA.
CIA, and FBI, most predominantly also State Department.
Chairman Pfluger. Thank you. My time has expired, and I
recognize the Ranking Member for his line of question.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Clearly, what I have
heard today is very disturbing. Before I get to my questions, I
just want to reiterate that we are going to do everything we
can to assure that the victims, those that are suffering, will
receive consistent health care for what is ailing you. But Mr.
Edgreen, the evidence. No intentional attack yet. What I am
hearing from Mr. Zaid, Mr. Grozev, is that there is a
possibility that something is out there attacking us,
especially in the homeland. Mr. Edgreen, based on what, Mr.
Zaid just said, what are your thoughts?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. My personal thoughts?
Mr. Correa. As an intelligence officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Is that I agree with them. My
personal opinions is that this is a global campaign, and it
includes attacking us here at home. It is a strategic issue
that is going to impact us.
Mr. Correa. Is this an attack by the Russians? Just the
Russians? Is it against the United States solely? Or other
allies as well?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I have to be careful what I say
here. So let me say this.
Mr. Correa. If I can, say what you can. If you gentlemen
feel better talking about this in a more secure setting----
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I will start by saying----
Mr. Correa [continuing]. I can work on that as well.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen [continuing]. Congressman, thank
you for the question. Give me 20 minutes in a SCIF, and I will
convince all of you. I know where the bodies are buried. I know
the cabinets to look in, the questions to ask, and the people
to subpoena. I will say that this is a global campaign, and it
is focused on attacking our people. The best of our people. It
is not the middle-range people that are being attacked. It is
those that are succeeding. Succeeding, and providing work. Work
that wounds up on the President's desk every morning. So it is
a massive issue. It is something that doesn't come to light. It
is something that, especially with the Department of Defense
survivors, the unseen, they are totally left out of this.
Because the Havana Act doesn't cover your active-duty members.
They are told to go to the VA, but there is no VA diagnostic
code, so we are not getting them care. It is not consistent. We
have funding available that is allocated, that we could provide
to take care of all of our people in our Government. We are not
using it. That is what I urge you to contact the Defense Health
Program.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Zaid, my last 2\1/2\ minutes. Would you say
this is more on behalf of the U.S. Government in terms of what
we have been looking at? Is this more of a malfeasance as
opposed to misfeasance?
Mr. Zaid. That is a good question. I am sure, just like so
many other issues, it is a combination. I can't explain some of
the obstacles that those in the Government have erected to
block information. I can tell you, you know first-hand that I--
--
Mr. Correa. But your opinion would be that that information
is being blocked?
Mr. Zaid. There is information that has absolutely been
blocked from one agency to the other. Particularly at the CIA.
I mean, that is who we are going to point to the most, of
information that the CIA has, that its sister intelligence
agencies--it hasn't been shared with. I can identify a number
of specific Classified documents in the proper setting.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Grozev, any thoughts?
Mr. Grozev. I would like to be the devil's advocate and
allow for the possibility, for some legitimate reasons, why the
U.S. Government and intelligence officers agencies might not
want to make this a public issue. One of the few legitimate
explanations for this, in my mind, is the fear of proliferation
of such a weapon. In case it becomes widely-known that it is
achievable, feasible, and maybe not too costly to manufacture.
That is why I don't require public answers to our findings. But
I encourage SCIF answers to everything we found out to you and
to Government, so that we exclude the possibility that it is if
that is the case of an attack on American officials by the
Russian state.
Mr. Correa. Is there any way to protect our officials from
these weapons?
Mr. Grozev. This is exactly why I do not take into account
a possible legitimate reason for hiding this. Because from my
personal point of view, making this public is the best
protection.
Mr. Correa. My last few seconds, Mr. Edgreen. Any thoughts?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. The best way to protect our
people is to fight back. When you are hit in the shadows, you
have to hit back twice as hard and tell your adversary why you
did that.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am out of time. I
will yield.
Chairman Pfluger. The gentleman yields. I now recognize the
gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Crane, for his 5 minutes of
questioning.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
hearing today. Thank you to our witnesses for showing up. Many
Americans, including other Members that I have spoken to
recently, don't exactly know what to think of these Anomalous
Health Incidents. I spoke to one the other day, just yesterday,
who said I thought that was debunked. Like Havana Syndrome,
where our citizens are claiming very serious medical conditions
following perceived attacks. After hearing your testimonies, it
sounds like all 3 of you believe that these are hostile actions
orchestrated by our adversaries against American citizens. Is
that correct?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Yes, sir.
Mr. Zaid. Yes. Not all of them, of course.
Mr. Crane. OK. I can't remember which one of you said at
least 68 incidents that you believe to be attacks using these
type of weapons? Is that correct?
Mr. Grozev. At least 68 of the incidents I said cannot be
explained away with preexisting conditions for psychosomatic
symptoms.
Mr. Crane. Can you go over again real quick, Mr. Grozev,
why you believe that our Nation's own law enforcement and
intelligence investigations have concluded the opposite of the
claims made here today?
Mr. Grozev. One general observation, and again, I don't
know the answer, but based on my 10 years of investigation of
Russian intelligence operations and observing the parallel
findings of law enforcement and intelligence publications, I
find that there is an over-reliance on something that a
colleague and a victim, a colleague of the victims and a victim
himself called the straw, drinking straw insight, that is
unfortunately used for many of the conclusions. Reliance or
reliance on human intelligence sources that may be recruited
within the Russian intelligence community who are asked, do you
know if this is you guys? The answer may be no. That may be a
very honest, sincere answer. From my investigation it is clear
that any operation like this is heavily compartmentalized and
it is firewalled to a degree where even members, other members
of the same unit might not be aware that this has been going
on.
To rely on human intelligence for conclusions of this
stature is probably very inefficient. What we do find is
unexplained travel. We find unexplained communications. That
all points to a very plausible and internally consistent theory
that these people are behind the attacks. Again, I just, I can
see several reasons why the U.S. intelligence might not want to
make that public. But they must make it known to qualified--and
in a secure setting and provide answers to our findings.
Mr. Crane. Guys, if your assessments here are correct,
these are very covert weapons, aren't they? They don't leave
behind bomb fragments, bullet holes, et cetera. They could
absolutely be used by our adversaries and have very low levels
of very easy to deny that they were even there, that they were
used. Is that correct?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. That is correct. There is no
entry or exit wound. How they are designed is to make the
target feel like they are crazy, like they are imagining
things. Especially on the low-duration, the low-intensity,
long-duration hits.
Mr. Crane. But you were saying that the targets are most
often, always either CIA, FBI, intelligence, law enforcement
individuals. Is that correct?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. No, I said diplomats,
intelligence community, and Department of Defense make up the
lion's share. You often don't hear about the Department of
Defense despite DOD having 5 or 10 times the number of
survivors that Department of State has.
Mr. Crane. Thank you for that correction, sir. You guys
also said that these attacks are happening right here in this
city, is that correct?
Mr. Zaid. Yes.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Yes.
Mr. Crane. Can you expound on that a little bit more?
Mr. Zaid. I mean, there have been some that have gone
public with respect to Washington DC, the particularly credible
ones. I am not saying that those are not credible, but the ones
that have received the most attention on the inside of the
intelligence community are in Northern Virginia, and they are
particularly of CIA personnel.
Mr. Crane. I think it was Mr. Grozev said you spoke to a
Russian agent who said that they believe that Americans are
using these same weapons on them. Is that correct?
Mr. Grozev. That is correct. Back in the `80's.
Mr. Crane. Might that have something to do with part of the
CIA's motive to cover up the existence of the, this tech and
these weapons?
Mr. Grozev. That is a very logical possibility.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Chairman Pfluger. Gentleman yields. Chair now recognizes
the gentleman from New York, Mr. Goldman, for his round of
questioning.
Mr. Goldman. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Thank you to our
witnesses for being here. Mr. Grozev, I want to follow up a
little bit on the interactions you've had with Russian
intelligence about these AHI's. If you had a conversation with
an intelligence officer where a Russian intelligence officer
where he or she said that these are the same weapons that were
used in the 1980's, isn't that an admission that they know they
are using them now?
Mr. Grozev. It is an admission that it is very plausible
that they are being used now because the person was not privy
to this particular operation. He is or she is retired. But
again, the important thing is that he was serving at a time
when there was a concerted effort for the Russian intelligence
services to develop a counter-weapon. He believed, given time
passed since then, it has been developed.
Mr. Goldman. I see. So he has retired, but believes that
based on the similar symptoms or what other factors went into
his----
Mr. Grozev. Very, very similar symptoms were being conveyed
in terms of Soviet diplomats stationed abroad, of intelligence
background, had returned back to Russia, to the Soviet Union,
with symptoms that they believed were caused by an acoustic
weapon. That was their belief. It is not the fact that it is
what happened, but again, it explains partly the motivation for
them to develop a weapon that will be targeting exactly the
type of people that we see being targeted.
Mr. Goldman. I know there is some geospatial data that
indicates there were Russian intelligence officers near alleged
incidents abroad. Do any of you know whether that is also the
case for any of the incidents that have been reported
domestically?
Mr. Grozev. I do not have that data. Because the particular
unit that we have focused on, they would not dare come to the
United States. Therefore, if the Russians were doing this on
U.S. soil, they would have used sleeper, sleepers, long-term
proxies that would be here. But that is not a unit that I have
discovered in my own career.
Mr. Goldman. Therefore difficult to identify as affiliated
with Russian intelligence.
Mr. Grozev. Right.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Sir, I think you should refer
that last question to the FBI in Classified spaces.
Mr. Zaid. Obviously, the episode with my client, an active
FBI agent that was authorized to speak to 60 Minutes, talks
about an incident in Key West, and most of that information is
either Law Enforcement-Sensitive or Classified.
Mr. Goldman. Are any of you aware of any reported incidents
from individuals who are not members of the United States
Government? Domestically, I should say.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I am not. But I will throw a
caveat in there. Generally, I only focused on former and
current Government employees that were attacked.
Mr. Goldman. Mr. Zaid, are you?
Mr. Zaid. There are many people who believe they are
victims of AHI's. All you have to do is look at my Twitter feed
whenever I post on the topic. I only represent Federal
Government employees and their families, so I don't focus on
the accuracy of those particular claims.
Mr. Goldman. Mr. Grozev, do you have any in sight?
Mr. Grozev. Not on American soil, but in other parts of the
world there have been complaints that appear to be credible
from Russian activists or Russian opposition leaders living
abroad.
Mr. Goldman. Mr. Zaid, I want to ask, and this is a
hypothetical, but I am trying to understand why our Government
would try to block information sharing or conceal information
that they have. One thing that comes to mind is whether there
is an operational risk to revealing any of the details of their
investigation. Is that something that you have come across in
any of your work?
Mr. Zaid. Yes, and quickly, because I know your time is
elapsing here. I do think that that is, and I agree with Mr.
Grozev, that is, there is a lot of reasons why the information
might not be publicly released, and I do think that is
something we could address more in a Classified environment to
explain that. But there are understandable reasons why the U.S.
Government has not revealed much of what it knows. But the
question is, how about to you?
Mr. Goldman. But also, if I may, Mr. Chairman, to follow up
on that, there is a conclusion that has been made public that
it is highly, highly, highly unlikely. I forgot what the
language is, that these symptoms were caused by some sort of
foreign, malign actor.
Mr. Zaid. Right. So the last ODNI assessment that came out
in 2023 had indicated, and to the public, it seems very
damning, this highly unlikely, that a foreign adversary was
involved. But if you actually look at the levels within each of
the agencies as to the level of credibility that they have
assessed to that is actually quite low for most of them. There
is a lot of pushback, even internally among some of the
intelligence agencies as to the qualification of that
information. I will say just very quickly, finally, they talk
about in particular, I think, one of the CIA's public
documents, that many of these cases can be explained through
environmental factors, preexisting medical conditions, but they
don't explain any of that, which could easily be said in
another sentence. The environmental factors include the
following. Whatever, whatever. We looked at prior health
conditions, and 85 percent had football injuries when they
played in high school and college. None of that information is
in there. Which leads one to believe that there is something
more.
The other thing I will say just really quickly on that the
news media missed the story on that CIA assessment. They said
they looked at more than 1,000 cases and they concluded the
vast majority could be explained otherwise. But there are at
least 2 dozen cases that even the CIA acknowledges they can't
explain away by any other alternative factors. That to me is
the story that should have been in the New York Times and the
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, that there are 2 dozen
cases the CIA can't even explain away.
Mr. Goldman. Is that part of your 68, Mr. Grozev?
Mr. Grozev. Absolutely, yes.
Mr. Goldman. Mr. Chairman, thank you for indulging. I yield
back.
Chairman Pfluger. Gentlemen's time has expired. The Chair
now recognizes gentleman from California, Mr. Swalwell.
Mr. Swalwell. Thank you. I thank the Chair and our Ranking
Member for allowing me to waive on to this hearing. I thank the
panelists. This is an issue that I know well from 8 years on
the House Intelligence Committee. I first just want to say to
Mr. Zaid that your clients, who you represent, are heroes. The
people who were subjected to this are American heroes. I have
met a number of them, and they served their country abroad.
They toiled away oftentimes without their family, leaving
everything here in the United States, and oftentimes without
any of us really having a sense of what they are doing. They
were exposed to this. This condition when you meet with the
victims is completely debilitating. It changes your life. It
turns it upside down. If you are a young parent, life is
already disorienting. If you are subjected to this, it is even
more difficult to be a parent. Put yourself through this, the
questions you have.
But something that I have been struck by in meeting with so
many of these victims is, yes, they want to get well
themselves. They have an obligation to their families to take
care of their families. They have expectations of the agencies
that they work for. But in every single one of them, they want
to share as much as possible to prevent the next attack. So,
their sense of duty, even after being attacked and even after
being debilitated, is still, I don't want this to happen to
somebody else. Mr. Zaid, I don't know if you can animate that
just a little bit as to the patriotism of the people you
represent and wanting to get to the bottom of this.
Mr. Zaid. Thank you, Congressman. I agree 100 percent. It
was mentioned by Mr. Edgreen, the notion of these oftentimes
are the best of the best who have been impacted. I have heard
repeatedly from so many of them that what they want to achieve
here is to make sure that their peers, their colleagues, and
their future colleagues do not have this happen to them and
they want to go back to work. I mean, this is--most of them
were in their thirties and forties when they were impacted and
would still have long careers ahead of them. They want nothing
more than to put their efforts into working for the national
security interests of the United States. They are true heroes.
I agree 100 percent.
Mr. Swalwell. As we think forward about, you know, what can
we do? This is the Homeland Security Committee. Obviously, this
issue crosses jurisdictions. The House Intelligence Committee,
Armed Services Committee, and Homeland Security Committee. But
I would just welcome from the Lieutenant Colonel, how should we
be thinking about this on the homeland? If this is indeed, you
know, a foreign adversary, you know, using a technology or a
technique, you know, how do we prevent it from coming onto the
homeland where, you know, the targets, the target environment
is even richer than Americans abroad.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Thank you, sir. First of all, I
must say that, yes, there is needed, much-needed legislation.
We need a new Havana Act, something that is not a one-term
payment. It was a great step in the right direction, but it had
some shortcomings that we are going to fix in the next go-
around. What you are referring to would obviously have to fall
under the next Homeland Security Act and securing our borders,
because if I hypothetically was going to plan an operation, I
would have to get a couple guys across our border. They would
go pick up a weapon and then start surveilling the target and
then hit them and then disappear. So, I think there is a larger
question there that I am not qualified to answer. But there is
some long-term things that needs to be done in terms of new
Acts. But in the short-term, we need to do things like
implement the original Havana Act. DOD still hasn't done it.
They still have not implemented the Havana Act. We need a VA
diagnostic code. Thanks to the VFW brothers and sisters that
are here today and for your meeting earlier, we don't have a VA
diagnostic code for the 500-some DOD survivors. How are they
going to get long-term care and disability without that?
Mr. Swalwell. Well, I hope this issue you see in a room
that is often contentious, explosive, volcanic, that you have
got Members on both sides who first honor and salute the
victims and want to do everything we can to make sure that they
are made whole and if they can return, can return. Then of
course, as the victims have wanted to do, make sure we do
everything possible to prevent anyone else from suffering from
this. I yield back. Thank you, Chairman.
Chairman Pfluger. I thank the gentleman. We'll now enter a
second round of questioning. I know we have a couple of other
Members who were seeking to waive on and we will again
alternate according to seniority on both sides of the aisle. So
I recognize myself for another round of questioning.
Let me just kind-of go back to Mr. Edgreen. When you look
at what is your, I guess, analysis of how many victims you can
identify that have occurred here in the United States? Then
second, what has been the response by Government agencies to
those, to those victims from the time that they report it to
the communication between agencies, if any communication
exists. Maybe focus a little bit on the FBI.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Yes. Thank you. I can't get
into specifics about the numbers, but after having talked with
Mr. Zaid about this, I could say comfortably.
Chairman Pfluger. Why can't you talk about the numbers?
Just so everybody can understand.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Because numbers and specific
locations of attacks are Classified. But I can tell you roughly
20 percent to 30 percent of the cases that I saw were in the
homeland. In terms of the response on the homeland, it gets
tricky because it involves authorities here within the FBI.
What I have found is that we needed a faster response
mechanism. The U.S. Government doesn't have a central
clearinghouse for AHI's. So let us say someone in the air force
is attacked on soil. How do you quickly find out about that and
freeze the crime scene and go out and evaluate it?
Chairman Pfluger. There is no coordination that is
happening in between departments and agencies and
organizations?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. It is happening, but it is very
slow. It involves letterhead memorandum that takes weeks to
process. CCTV footage expires in this town within 24 hours.
Chairman Pfluger. Talk to me about the Classification, who
classified it?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. You would have to ask the ODNI.
They are the over--they oversaw all things related.
Chairman Pfluger. Your understanding and what you are
testifying to now is it is Classified. So there isn't an
acknowledgement of an issue.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Clearly. Clearly, sir, there
is.
Chairman Pfluger. Mr. Grozev, I will ask you the same
question. How has the FBI handled the complaints and the, you
know, you want to call them the victim, if you want to call
them the victims and their, I guess, reaching out to within the
FBI, how have they handled it?
Mr. Grozev. I am not privy to that investigation. From my
incidental observations, my belief is that the FBI feel that
they have to toe the line of the intelligence community on this
topic. They feel, some of them feel that they wish they could
do more to protect their own colleagues.
Chairman Pfluger. OK. Are they being told, is it your
feeling that they are being told from superiors or others
within the FBI to stand down?
Mr. Grozev. I do not have evidence they have been told. But
being patriots, it might be a self-imposed limitation to not
contradict the overall finding of the Director of National
Intelligence.
Chairman Pfluger. I will ask the same thing to you, Mr.
Zaid. Is that your understanding or is there something similar
to that going on?
Mr. Zaid. Without a doubt. I think the FBI is becoming
better, more receptive. But I will give you a perfect example.
In March 2021, the FBI drafted a work-force message concerning
AHI's to go to everyone about what to do, how to report it. It
took them 6 months to issue that notice. During that time, my
client, Carrie, who is in the 60 Minutes episode, was hit. That
work-force message still didn't go out. It took a long time to
even get medical care for many of the FBI victims, it has been
a complicated process. There are specifics that we could
absolutely provide to you in a more protected environment, more
so for the privacy of the individuals, but also from a
classification standpoint, that would show you where the system
has broken down.
Chairman Pfluger. How high does this go? We are talking
about, as has been testified to today, high successful, well-
performing people. But I mean, can you give us some details
about how high this goes in our government?
Mr. Zaid. From a victim standpoint?
Chairman Pfluger. Yes, from a victim standpoint.
Mr. Zaid. I mean, it has been reported. Individuals
connected to the NSC and the White House.
Chairman Pfluger. Those as Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen--
those that could brief the President.
Mr. Zaid. Yes, and some of them have been public in some
prior 60 Minutes episodes of believing that they have been
impacted. I mean, there would be evidence that would be in the
Classified sphere.
Chairman Pfluger. Of the incidents that are happening in,
say, Northern Virginia, Washington, DC. Are families, family
members, also reporting having symptoms and being attacked?
Mr. Zaid. Not as many. Usually it has been in the overseas
locations where the family members have been impacted.
Generally, because it is as I described in that NSA memo,
bathing the residence. You know, they have no idea who might be
inside the residence. That is why literally pets have been
impacted because they have been in the beam, the wave,
whatever. Most there have been Government buildings impacted in
Northern Virginia, and it's usually been individuals either in
their home, hotels, or driving.
Chairman Pfluger. Is it the Panel's belief that this is
primarily happening attributed to Russian operatives?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I have said this before. There
is an extremely strong Russia nexus inside China. I think that
changes a bit.
Chairman Pfluger. Quickly, Mr. Grozev.
Mr. Grozev. We have the specific evidence of Russian
operatives being in China at the time when American diplomats
suffered incidents. This could not have happened without the
knowledge and at least passive cooperation by Chinese
intelligence. Which means Chinese intelligence would be exposed
to the capabilities and possibility of such a weapon. Which
probably means they have developed their own version or
borrowed it from Russia.
Chairman Pfluger. Thank you. All right, my time has
expired. I recognize the Ranking Member.
Mr. Correa. Thank you. Mr. Edgreen, we started talking
about, you know, the lack of Government action, recognizing
this issue. You compare this to Agent Orange and some of the
other ailments our military personnel have suffered. It takes
decades to acknowledge that, yes, this is an issue, it is a
medical issue to be taken care of, to be treated on a long-term
basis. It is kind-of where we started today. I think that I
agree with you and with Chairman and Mr. Swalwell, who worked
on this issue for a long time, that we do have to take care of
the victims the best we can. Now we are shifting to something
else, which is essentially a cover-up. What you all are saying
is there is a Government cover-up of the fact that something is
out there afflicting, targeting us. Is this where we are going
with this?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Thank you. Great points. I
won't get into classification of the problems. I will tell you
that the Government in the IC assessment is wrong. It is dead
wrong. I can't tell you if it is a cover-up, why they are doing
this. Malfeasance. I won't go there. What I can tell you is
that it is my firm belief we already have attribution. Right
now is the time for action, retribution. We need to prioritize
taking care of our people. Because there is a lot of survivors
and their families that have been attacked here in the homeland
that are in a long wait line to get to Walter Reed. Because we
are not executing funding that's already been allocated by you
gentlemen to take care of these survivors. You fix Walter Reed
in the Defense Health Program. Everyone benefits.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Zaid.
Mr. Zaid. So, sir, I have been working in the national
security field for 30 years, representing some of our most
covert intelligence officers, who I respect a great deal, and
the agencies. The word cover-up. I will tell you that there are
many legitimate reasons why there could be what the agencies
are doing to explain why they are doing it. What I will tell
you is----
Mr. Correa. Would you say a cover-up as a statement, or
other words.
Mr. Zaid. So cover-up would depend on intent. There could
be good reasons to withhold information. I will say that the
public statements that the Executive branch is making is
inconsistent with the Classified record, and then it would be
Congress's job as an oversight authority to determine why that
is, whether it was a legitimate reason to mislead the public,
or because of some nefarious reason, or all the above. But the
record on the inside, in the Classified theater, is not
consistent with the public statements.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Grozev.
Mr. Grozev. If this is true, and it depends partly on
Classified data that I am not privy to, then it is a judgment
call that was made to mislead the public in the interest of
national, international security interest. But it would be up
to Congress to decide whether that judgment call was correct.
One additional effect of such a judgment call that may not have
been taken into account is the effect of encouraging the
hostile power in the hypothesis that this is indeed a Russian,
a covert operation, and the whole intelligence community of the
United States has publicly denied this ever happening. This
will be such a trigger, such an incentive for Russia to
escalate, and to--it will be for somebody who knows how the
mind of President Putin works, I can tell you that if they did
it, and the U.S. Government has concluded they didn't do it,
this will encourage an escalation in the war in Ukraine. This
will encourage an escalation because this person thinks the
rest of the world are complete idiots, and really, that is how
his mind works. So take this into account when you assess the
judgment call.
Mr. Correa. Thank you. Any other thoughts, Chairman? Go
ahead, Mr. Edgreen.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I would just like to thank this
committee for focusing on this issue. One of the things we
always did at the DIA was not questioning the individual. Are
they really having symptoms? We got immediate care for every
single symptom, and I think that is the right way to do it. In
terms of attribution, I think we over-empowered CIA analysts,
and when they kicked it up the food chain to ODNI for NIC
assessment, when you look at it, the people they kicked it up
to were other CIA analysts on loan. So this was a self-licking
ice cream cone. We need more people inside the Department of
Defense or with an operational background to look at this,
because if you show an analyst flowers, they are going to look
for a wedding. You show a case officer those flowers, they are
going to look for a funeral.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Chairman, I yield.
Chairman Pfluger. I thank the Ranking Member. Chair and I
recognize the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Crane.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This next question is
for Mr. Zaid and Edgreen. Are either of you aware of any
individuals who have AHI symptoms have passed away from their
ailments?
Mr. Zaid. I do.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I do.
Mr. Crane. Do we know how many that you are aware of? We
need to discuss that somewhere else.
Mr. Zaid. For the privacy of the families. It is a small
community.
Mr. Crane. Right. Mr. Chairman, are we going to be able to
move into a Classified setting at some point or at another
time?
Chairman Pfluger. I think that possibility will exist at a
later time.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. There is concerns that
the FBI has totally dropped the ball on this investigation.
Would the panelists agree with that assessment?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. I would. I would say that a
great question for you to ask is to the FBI, how many people
did you have assigned to this? They are going to come back with
a big number, and then you are going to ask how many people
were assigned to this full-time? Then you are going to see the
looks on their faces. Because by my accounts, I had roughly 2
officers from the field office. I had a GS15 at headquarters
and an analyst, and the best one out of all of them was the
analyst. I will say they all had additional duties. That wasn't
their main job. They were doing things like looking at January
6th, looking at terrorism threats here in DC. So it's been very
small, hasn't been resourced properly. Any time you work with
the FBI, and this is fascinating because I did my whole career
abroad, it is easier. They put things into a black box. One of
the main problems we had is they had on a criminal hat--CRIM,
as they say it, in the FBI, and not a CI hat.
Mr. Crane. Gotcha. Do you believe that Homeland Security
Investigations should get engaged in this investigation?
Lieutenant Colonel Edgreen. Absolutely. Because they were
cut out. You only had, I believe, my time there. One Homeland
Security Officer, she was an analyst for Secret Service.
Homeland Security Investigation should be involved.
Mr. Crane. Have any of you 3 panelists ever seen one of
these weapons?
Mr. Grozev. I have seen a 1991 version of the weapon. It
looks like a satellite dish with a unit this size attached to
it. Of course, over the years, miniaturization has been
possible. Obviously, there is a limitation to how miniaturized
it can be because of the antenna size, which can always, is
always related to the wave. But still, it is something that can
be well-contained in the trunk of a car, or even a large
backpack.
Mr. Crane. Is this a type of weapon that could be cobbled
together once foreign operatives are on our own soil? Or is
this something that would have to be manufactured in a nation-
state?
Mr. Grozev. My experience shows that it can be cobbled
together. It is something that can. A rough, crude version of
this that will probably require longer exposure than the more
advanced version that has been tested, as we see from this
document, can be put together inexpensively. But again, I would
abstain from commenting further, lest I encourage people to try
it at home.
Mr. Crane. That would make this weapon and this tactic even
more dangerous, wouldn't it, Mr. Grozev?
Mr. Grozev. Correct.
Mr. Crane. Can you tell us, sir, about this contract you
discovered for these weapons?
Mr. Grozev. The contract was an award by the Institute for
Prospective Military Studies. An annual award. That means that
this was the best development for a unit. Research,
development, achievement for a unit whose goal is to encourage
the production and manufacturing and discovery and invention in
the area of new weapons, both lethal and non-lethal. I know
that this same commander won the award of this institute 2
years in a row. We are only privy to one of his devices, to one
of his achievements. We don't know what the subsequent year's
delivery from him was. But again, I mentioned this in order for
you to understand that the perceived value, the perceived merit
by the Kremlin of this particular award, of this particular
achievement, was high enough for it to be done. The only award
for the year, and for this person to achieve a political
placement, a position that is not usual for a security
operative. This is the value of our finding. This was a very
momentous moment for the Kremlin, this particular achievement.
Mr. Crane. Mr. Chairman, can I have 30 more seconds? I
think it was you, Mr. Grozev, who said that in your
investigation, you were able to conclude that one of these
units who was operating on our soil was found near individuals
that contracted these illnesses. How were you able to confirm
this unit's proximity to individuals who experienced these
injuries?
Mr. Grozev. We have used, over the years, an amalgamation
of data sources from the Russian market of data, which is a
unique phenomenon. We have obtained border crossing data. We
have obtained ticketing data, hotel reservation data, and
telephone communication data for essentially 60 members of this
unit that we have identified over the years.
Mr. Crane. Have any of them been apprehended, Mr. Grozev?
Mr. Grozev. Several of them have been indicted. Four of
them are. Six of them are indicted in Bulgaria over, including
the person that we just referred to, the engineer who
discovered the acoustic weapon or delivered it. They are
indicted, but they are obviously there, hidden, well-hidden in
Russia, and cannot be apprehended.
Mr. Crane. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Chairman Pfluger. Gentleman yields. This now concludes the
questioning portion of the hearing, and I would like to thank
the witnesses. Thank you for your time, your service, for being
able to come here today and share with us. Obviously, as my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle have said, the health,
the well-being of all of the service members and Government
officials, it is very concerning. What we have heard today is
very concerning. I think as we look at the next steps, I would
just encourage continued communication with this subcommittee,
with other subcommittees and committees that are looking at
this as well. The Members of the subcommittee may have some
additional questions for the witnesses, and we would ask you to
please respond to these in writing. Pursuant to committee rule
VII(D), the hearing record will be open for 10 days. Without
objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:20 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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