Marc E. Polymeropoulos
Marc E. Polymeropoulos is a former American intelligence officer who served 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Operations, retiring in June 2019 as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service.[1] His final position was overseeing CIA clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia.[1] Polymeropoulos is among the individuals who have reported symptoms consistent with Havana syndrome and has been a public advocate for affected intelligence officers.[2]
Career
Polymeropoulos served multiple overseas assignments as chief of station and deputy chief of station in Europe, Asia, and high-threat environments.[1] He specialized in counterterrorism, the Middle East, and South Asia, serving extensively in Iraq and Afghanistan.[1] He received the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Medal of Merit, and the Intelligence Commendation Medal.[3]
Polymeropoulos holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell University.[4]
Havana syndrome
In December 2017, while serving as deputy chief of CIA clandestine operations for Europe and Eurasia, Polymeropoulos traveled to Moscow on official business.[2] He reported waking in his hotel room experiencing vertigo, nausea, and ringing in his ears.[2] The symptoms persisted after his return to the United States, and he was eventually diagnosed with occipital neuralgia.[5]
Polymeropoulos stated that the CIA's Office of Medical Services initially determined his symptoms were not consistent with those of diplomats affected in Havana.[6] He retired from the CIA in 2019, citing his inability to work due to persistent headaches.[5] Polymeropoulos has publicly attributed his condition to a possible directed-energy attack and has called for greater government support for affected officers.[6]
Post-CIA career
After retiring, Polymeropoulos authored Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA, published by HarperCollins in June 2021.[3] The book was reviewed by the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.[7]
Polymeropoulos is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, specializing in hybrid warfare.[1] He has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Politico, Foreign Affairs, and Lawfare, and contributes a weekly column to the Washington Examiner.[1] He has appeared on PBS NewsHour, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, and BBC.[1]
Hunter Biden laptop letter
In October 2020, Polymeropoulos co-drafted with former acting CIA director Michael Morell a public letter stating that emails from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, reported by the New York Post, had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."[8] The letter was signed by 51 former intelligence officials.[9]
In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Polymeropoulos stated that Morell told him "the Biden world had asked for this."[8] He testified that he believed Joe Biden mischaracterized the letter when citing it during a presidential debate, and acknowledged the authenticity of the laptop's contents.[10]
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of the letter's signatories.[11]
See also
- Havana syndrome
- Hunter Biden laptop controversy
- Central Intelligence Agency
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Marc Polymeropoulos". Atlantic Council. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dilanian, Ken (December 8, 2020). "CIA officer suffered crippling symptoms in Moscow. Was it 'Havana Syndrome'?". NBC News. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Clarity in Crisis". HarperCollins. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Former CIA Officer Brings Principles of Leadership to VMI". Virginia Military Institute. February 8, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Myre, Greg (October 27, 2020). "A CIA Officer Visits Moscow, Returns With Mysterious, Crippling Headaches". NPR. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Herridge, Catherine (June 14, 2021). "Former CIA officer details "Havana Syndrome" he says he suffered in Moscow: "An act of war"". CBS News. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Review: Clarity in Crisis" (PDF). Studies in Intelligence. Central Intelligence Agency. December 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bruner, Greg (June 27, 2024). "Disinformation, but whose? Hunter's laptop letter signers politically motivated, transcripts show". Just the News. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ Cohen, Zachary; Herb, Jeremy (May 10, 2023). "House Republicans say CIA staffer helped seek support for statement from former intel officials questioning Hunter Biden laptop story". CNN. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ Langan, Jake (July 4, 2024). "Hunter Biden Laptop Letter: Ex-Intel Officials Blame Media, Joe Biden for Fallout". National Review. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
- ↑ "Trump revokes security clearances of former officials who signed Hunter Biden laptop letter with executive action". CNN. January 21, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
External links
- Profile at Atlantic Council
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Atlantic Council
Category:American non-fiction writers
Category:Havana syndrome
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