The FBI has cut ties with at least a handful of informants and issued warnings about dozens of others following an internal investigation over concerns they were linked to Russian disinformation, current and former U.S. officials said.
The investigation was conducted in 2020 and 2021 by a small group within the bureau’s counterintelligence division, with findings then passed on to field offices, which handle informants.
It led to the cutting of sources — some of whom had offered information on Russia-linked oligarchs, political leaders and other influential figures — at a time when the agency was asking agents to produce more information from and about those same networks. The review was conducted during and after the 2020 election, when concerns about Russian interference were high, and at a time when the United States was closely watching whether Russia would invade Ukraine.
