NBC News: U.S. Putting Out Phony Intel As Part of 'Info War' With Russia

It was an attention-grabbing assertion that made headlines around the world: U.S. officials said they had indications suggesting Russia might be preparing to use chemical agents in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden later said it publicly. But three U.S. officials told NBC News this week there is no evidence Russia has brought any chemical weapons near Ukraine. They said the U.S. released the information to deter Russia from using the banned munitions.

It's one of a string of examples of the Biden administration's breaking with recent precedent by deploying declassified intelligence as part of an information war against Russia. The administration has done so even when the intelligence wasn't rock solid, officials said, to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin off balance. Coordinated by the White House National Security Council, the unprecedented intelligence releases have been so frequent and voluminous, officials said, that intelligence agencies had to devote more staff members to work on the declassification process, scrubbing the information so it wouldn't betray sources and methods.

As the war has proceeded, the administration has used intelligence to warn of possible Russian actions and draw attention to Russian military failings.

At times, the Biden administration has released information in which it has less confidence or about things that are possible rather than truly likely.

Last week, U.S. officials told reporters they had intelligence suggesting Putin is being misled by his own advisers, who are afraid to tell him the truth.

But when Biden was asked about the disclosure later in the day — after it made headlines around the globe — he was less than definitive.

"That's an open question. There's a lot of speculation," Biden told reporters. "But he seems to be — I'm not saying this with a certainty — he seems to be self-isolating."

The degree to which Putin is isolated or relying on flawed information can't be verified, said Paul Pillar, a retired career U.S. intelligence officer. "There's no way you can prove or disprove that stuff," he said.

Two U.S. officials said the intelligence about whether Putin's inner circle was lying to him wasn't conclusive — based more on analysis than hard evidence. Other officials disputed that, saying the intelligence was very reliable and had been vetted at the highest levels.

In another disclosure, U.S. officials said one reason not to provide Ukraine with MiG fighter jets is that intelligence showed Russia would view the move as escalatory.

That was true, but it was also true of Stinger missiles, which the Biden administration did provide, two U.S. officials said, adding that the administration declassified the MiG information to bolster the argument not to provide them to Ukraine.

Likewise, a charge that Russia had turned to China for potential military help lacked hard evidence, a European official and two U.S. officials said.

The U.S. officials said there are no indications China is considering providing weapons to Russia. The Biden administration put that out as a warning to China not to do so, they said.

The European official described the disclosure as "a public game to prevent any military support from China."