Russian woman ‘worked as spy’ at US embassy in Moscow

A RUSSIAN woman worked as a spy inside the US embassy in Moscow for more than a decade before she was found out, it was reported last night.

The woman, who had her security clearance revoked in the summer of 2017, had access to the secret service’s intranet and email systems, according to The Guardian. Those files gave her a window into potentially confidential material, including the schedules of the president and vice-president.

Suspicion was aroused in 2016, during a routine check from the state department, when it emerged she was having regular and unauthorised meetings with members of the FSB, Russia’s principle security agency.

A source told the paper that “her frequent contacts with the FSB gave her away ... numerous unsanctioned meetings and communications”.

The secret service did not deny she was a mole, but downplayed her role, stating that standard security concerns mean foreign nationals are given duties “limited to translation, interpretation, cultural guidance, liaison and administrative support”.

It came as the White House declared that a “vast, government-wide effort” was under way to stop foreign powers meddling in forthcoming midterm elections in the US.

The most senior figures in America’s intelligence and national security agencies made a succession of speeches from the White House press briefing podium accusing Russia of continuing to pursue a “pervasive” campaign to “weaken and divide the United States”. Ahead of November’s midterm elections, they warned yesterday that American democracy was in the “crosshairs” of foreign adversaries and that ongoing action was needed to protect the country’s “free and fair” elections.

And they said that while current Russian interference was not as great as that seen before the 2016 presidential election, it was only “one keyboard click away” from escalating.

The comments came alongside a letter from John Bolton, the White House national security adviser, to Democrat senators outlining what was being done by the federal government.

Mr Bolton said in his letter published by the White House yesterday: “Mr Trump has not and will not tolerate interference in America’s system of representative government. He has directed a vast, government-wide effort to protect electoral procedures and processes while investigating, prosecuting, and holding accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere.”

Dan Coats, director of national intelligence – America’s most senior intelligence official – said that Mr Trump had “specifically” tasked agencies to make stopping election meddling a “top priority”. He warned: “We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States.”

Christopher Wray, the FBI director, said the agency was working with “fierce determination and focus” to counter the threat, and Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of Homeland Security, said that “free and fair elections” were the “cornerstone” of America’s political system, adding: “Our democracy itself is in the crosshairs.”