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Reporting from the Washington Post exposes ongoing planning behind a covert (until now) spy program to conduct economic warfare against China and other competitors, according to six people familiar with the initiative. The Pentagon denies it. Deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss said the Post’s questions rely on information that is “simply not true.” The report says U.S. operatives would go undercover as business people or other private sector personnel without an official U.S. government link, known as nonofficial cover. The effort is reportedly overseen by Tom Rakusan, a 39 year CIA veteran who rose to deputy director of operations and is now a senior adviser to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, they said. It is in the planning phase and not operational, and it’s unclear where it would sit in the Pentagon, organizationally. Former officials told the Post the legal basis is murky. The CIA operates under Title 50, which covers intelligence and covert action, while the military operates under Title 10. The effort would likely sit somewhere between the two. They also said the CIA has traditionally resisted other agencies working on what it sees as its core human spying role, and that the CIA’s own deep cover program has shrunk. The Post reports the administration has embraced economic warfare, and that CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said in September the U.S. is broadening espionage against Chinese companies in AI, biotechnology and advanced semiconductors. Source: www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2...