![]() ![]() In other words, intelligence in the document seems to have come from a well-placed spy working for the CIA, while the “SI” in this document refers to Signals Intelligence, so the intelligence also likely involved some signals interception by the US government, for instance, from an electronic source such as a cell phone. Having spent decades recruiting foreigners to betray their secrets to the CIA, London quickly pointed out that “HCS-P” means “Human Control System,” which is intelligence acquired from a human source, while the “P” refers to “Product.” I asked London about another document labeled “TOP SECRET//HCS-P/SI//ORCON-USGOV/NOFORN” which is described as an “Undated document concerning military activity of a foreign country.” And “NOFORN” is almost self-explanatory: The document can’t be shared with foreigners. The category of this document, “TOP SECRET,” is the highest category of classification, which means that releasing the intelligence in the document would do “exceptionally grave damage to the national security” of the US.įurther underlining the sensitivity of the intelligence in this document about the nuclear program of a foreign country is the notation “ORCON,” which is short for “Originator Control,” meaning that whichever US intelligence agency produced this document would need to approve before the document could be shared with any other agency within the US government, according to London. London points out that this document about the nuclear program of a foreign country is so sensitive that even two of the codenames related to the document “have been redacted because of their sensitivity.” Document dated June 2020 concerning nuclear capabilities of a foreign country.” (You can hear excerpts of my conversations with them on my podcast, ” Decoding the Trump Indictment”) So, let’s start with the one I just mentioned, “TOP SECRET///// ORCON/NOFORN. London and Stout walked me through what can be learned about the documents in the indictment. I also spoke to Mark Stout, a historian who has written or co-edited several books about intelligence and who also served for more than a decade as an intelligence analyst at the State Department and the CIA. To decipher the intelligence markings of the classified documents and how sensitive the intelligence they contain might be, I turned to two of the United States’ leading experts on intelligence.ĭouglas London is a retired, 34-year veteran of the CIA’s Clandestine Service with multiple postings in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, who spent much of his career recruiting agents in foreign countries and who has written a very interesting book about his experiences, “The Recruiter: Spying and the Lost Art of American Intelligence,” along with frequent contributions to CNN Opinion. Those 31 documents are alluded to in the indictment using an intelligence shorthand, such as one labeled: “TOP SECRET///// ORCON/NOFORN” that is followed by a brief description: “Document dated June 2020 concerning nuclear capabilities of a foreign country.” Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and given a variety of defenses for his handling of the documents.
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