The House intelligence oversight committee is investigating what the panel’s chairman says were faulty intelligence analyses on the mysterious brain injuries known as Havana Syndrome.
Rep. Rick Crawford, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in the year since the committee published its initial findings, the panel has reaffirmed that the intelligence community mishandled analyses of cases involving “anomalous health incidents,” or AHIs.
The committee report a year ago concluded there is direct evidence the 2023 intelligence community assessment, or ICA, on the incidents was corrupted and produced using poor analytical standards and facts.
That 2023 assessment concluded that most intelligence agencies believed the incidents were “very unlikely” caused by foreign adversary attacks.
“I stand by my original statements from last year that the 2023 ICA was developed in a manner inconsistent with analytic integrity standards, and I strongly encourage my colleagues in the executive branch and the [intelligence community] to reassess the ICA,” Mr. Crawford said in a statement.
“Fast forward to today, our investigation continues on pace, more aggressively than ever before,” the Arkansas Republican said Thursday.
Congressional investigators determined in 2024 in an interim report that is it increasingly likely a foreign adversary is behind some of the incidents.
Suspects include the intelligence services of Russia or China that may have conducted directed energy attacks against U.S. personnel.
The malady surfaced publicly in late 2016 when several diplomats based in Havana reported experiencing debilitating brain injuries. The incidents led to the affliction being labeled Havana Syndrome.
Since then, hundreds of diplomats, intelligence personnel and some law enforcement officers have reported being affected by AHIs.
Incidents have been reported domestically by one FBI agent and overseas at U.S. facilities in China, Austria, Colombia, Georgia, Germany, India, Poland, Russia and Vietnam, the House report said.
Victims reported hearing loud, unexplained sounds such as grating noises and feelings of ear pressure that lasted about 30 seconds. Afterward, those experiencing the sounds reported various medical conditions that included tinnitus, vertigo, head and ear pressure, nausea, and cognitive difficulties.
The National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Trump on Thursday requires Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and intelligence leaders to produce standard guidelines for reporting AHIs.
The guidelines must match new ones required by the Pentagon for reporting and properly documenting the incidents, the legislation states.
“The committee continues to strongly support the work of the Department of Defense’s cross-functional team for addressing the threats posed by emerging directed energy weapons, including those that could plausibly result in anomalous health incidents (AHI), and believes the efforts of the cross-functional team have significantly advanced the department’s understanding of the threats these technologies pose to U.S. military, intelligence and other personnel,” a Senate report on the NDAA states.
The panel urged the Pentagon to “redouble efforts” to identify the origins of emerging directed energy threats and develop countermeasures.
The intelligence committee’s 2024 report challenged the 2023 intelligence finding that said the incidents were “very unlikely” caused by foreign adversaries, stating: “It appears increasingly likely and the chairman is convinced that a foreign adversary is behind some AHIs.”
The report accused intelligence agencies of withholding key information from the committee.
A committee spokeswoman said investigators determined that AHIs cannot all be explained away as standard medical, environmental or social factors, as claimed by the intelligence community “in its attempt to shape a politically palatable narrative.”
“The investigation continues at an aggressive pace, but the vast majority remains classified,” the spokeswoman said.
“That said, the committee remains focused on transparency where appropriate and has a focused investigative effort on alleged illegal and unethical activities by [intelligence community] personnel which undermined victims’ health care, medical diagnosis, and access to study results.”
Analysts at the National Intelligence Council, an analytic group within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, doubled down on the 2023 finding in January. An updated assessment stated that “most” agencies continue to conclude that foreign enemies are “very unlikely” to be the cause.
The January update, however, said two intelligence agencies that were not identified believe the chance that a foreign actor was causing the problems was “roughly even.”
DNI press secretary Olivia Coleman said a team of intelligence analysts is working on a review of AHI intelligence and is “relentless in its work and pursuit of the truth.”
“We are not going to rush to put out incomplete information,” Ms. Coleman said. “As stated above, our team has been relentless in its work and is committed to delivering the truth that the American people deserve.”
Mr. Crawford said he first sought answers about AHIs in 2017 and “felt strongly that there was more that needed to be done from an oversight perspective.”
“I want to assure all those impacted, whether directly by these attacks or those who have come forward to speak with our committee to share their experience or expertise, that we are committed to seeing this investigation through and remain focused on transparency, where appropriate,” he said.
Mr. Crawford disclosed during a committee hearing in September that Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was dismissed for cause over his handling of cases involving DIA officials who suffered from AHIs.
Gen. Kruse was fired by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Aug. 22 for what the Pentagon said was an unspecified “loss of confidence.”
Mr. Crawford told The Washington Times in September that the intelligence committee’s investigation uncovered information that showed Gen. Kruse acted in an unacceptable manner to an AHI victim, although the details remain secret.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Edgreen, who headed a DIA investigation into anomalous health incidents, testified to the House in 2023 that he suspects Russia is behind the attacks that involve novel, non-kinetic weapons.
Col. Edgreen said those targeted were key operators. “This wasn’t happening to our worst or our middle-range officers,” he said. “This was happening to our top 5%, 10% performing officers across the Defense Intelligence Agency. And consistently, there was a Russia nexus.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe promised during his Senate nomination hearing in January that he would aggressively review CIA analysis on anomalous health incidents to determine whether they are caused by enemy-directed energy weapons.
