The Washington Post article reveals ongoing planning for a (until now) secret spy program aimed at waging economic warfare against China and other competitors, according to six sources familiar with the initiative. The Pentagon denies this. Deputy Press Secretary Jacob Bliss said the Washington Post's questions were based on information that was "simply not true." The article said US agents would swoop in, posing as businessmen or other members of the private sector with no official connection to the US government, known as "unofficial cover". The effort is reportedly being led by Tom Rakusa, a 39-year CIA veteran who rose to become deputy director of operations and is now a senior adviser to Deputy Defense Secretary Steven Feinberg. The project is currently in the planning stage and is not operational, and it is not clear where it will fit into the organizational structure of the Pentagon. Former officials told WP that the legal basis for this activity is unclear. The CIA operates under Title 50, which covers intelligence and covert operations, while the military operates under Title 10. These activities will probably fall somewhere between these two categories. They also said that the CIA has traditionally opposed the work of other agencies in areas it considers its human intelligence activities, and that the CIA's own deep cover program has been scaled back. The WP article reports that the administration supports the idea of ​​economic warfare, and that CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said in September that the U.S. is expanding spying against Chinese companies in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and advanced semiconductors.

The Washington Post article reveals ongoing planning for a (until now) secret spy program aimed at waging economic warfare against China and other competitors, according to six sources familiar with the initiative. The Pentagon denies this. Deputy Press Secretary Jacob Bliss said the Washington Post's questions were based on information that was "simply not true." The article said US agents would swoop in, posing as businessmen or other members of the private sector with no official connection to the US government, known as "unofficial cover". The effort is reportedly being led by Tom Rakusa, a 39-year CIA veteran who rose to become deputy director of operations and is now a senior adviser to Deputy Defense Secretary Steven Feinberg. The project is currently in the planning stage and is not operational, and it is not clear where it will fit into the organizational structure of the Pentagon. Former officials told WP that the legal basis for this activity is unclear. The CIA operates under Title 50, which covers intelligence and covert operations, while the military operates under Title 10. These activities will probably fall somewhere between these two categories. They also said that the CIA has traditionally opposed the work of other agencies in areas it considers its human intelligence activities, and that the CIA's own deep cover program has been scaled back. The WP article reports that the administration supports the idea of ​​economic warfare, and that CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis said in September that the U.S. is expanding spying against Chinese companies in artificial intelligence, biotechnology and advanced semiconductors.