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] He is one of 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

See also: Havana syndrome

In December 2017, while serving as deputy chief of CIA clandestine operations for Europe and Eurasia, he traveled to Moscow on official business.[2] He reported waking in his hotel room experiencing vertigo, nausea, and ringing in his ears.[5][2] The symptoms persisted after his return to the United States, and he was eventually diagnosed with occipital neuralgia.[6]

He stated that the CIA's Office of Medical Services initially determined his symptoms were not consistent with those of diplomats affected in Havana.[7] He retired from the CIA in 2019, citing his inability to work due to persistent headaches.[6] He has publicly attributed his condition to a possible directed-energy attack and has called for greater government support for affected officers.[7] He was a key public advocate for the HAVANA Act of 2021, which provided compensation to affected personnel and passed unanimously in both chambers of Congress.[8]

Polymeropoulos has been featured in major investigative reporting on Havana syndrome, including Julia Ioffe's 2020 GQ investigation "The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion"[5] and the CBS News 60 Minutes investigation.[9]

He has also briefed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on anomalous health incidents.[10]

Post-CIA career

After retiring, he 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.[11]

He 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

See also: Hunter Biden laptop controversy

In October 2020, he 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."[12] The letter was signed by 51 former intelligence officials.[13]

In April 2023, he testified before the House Judiciary Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a transcribed interview.[14] He stated that Morell told him that "someone from kind of the Biden world had asked for this".[14] 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.[15]

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of the letter's signatories.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Marc Polymeropoulos". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on June 16, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Dilanian, Ken (December 8, 2020). "CIA officer suffered crippling symptoms in Moscow. Was it 'Havana Syndrome'?". NBC News. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Clarity in Crisis". HarperCollins. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  4. ^ "Former CIA Officer Brings Principles of Leadership to VMI". Virginia Military Institute. February 8, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ioffe, Julia (October 20, 2020). "The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion". GQ. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Myre, Greg (October 27, 2020). "A CIA Officer Visits Moscow, Returns With Mysterious, Crippling Headaches". NPR. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ Atwood, Kylie (February 24, 2021). "CIA launches task force to probe invisible attacks on US diplomats and spies as one victim finds some relief". CNN. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  9. ^ Pelley, Scott; Chasan, Aliza; Zill de Granados, Oriana; Rey, Michael (December 5, 2024). "Foreign adversary was likely behind Havana Syndrome, House Intelligence leaders say". CBS News. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  10. ^ "Havana Syndrome: American Officials Under Attack". Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  11. ^ "Review: Clarity in Crisis" (PDF). Studies in Intelligence. Central Intelligence Agency. December 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  12. ^ Dilanian, Ken; Collier, Kevin (February 24, 2024). "Former U.S. spies warned in 2020 that the Hunter Biden scandal had Russian fingerprints". NBC News. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b "Interview of Marc Polymeropoulos" (PDF). House Committee on the Judiciary. April 17, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2026.
  15. ^ Langan, Jake (July 4, 2024). "Hunter Biden Laptop Letter: Ex-Intel Officials Blame Media, Joe Biden for Fallout". National Review. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  16. ^ "Trump revokes security clearances of former officials who signed Hunter Biden laptop letter with executive action". CNN. January 21, 2025. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
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