Pentagon Denies Reported Deep-Cover China Spy Plan

The Pentagon is reportedly considering a deep-cover intelligence effort that would place operatives in private-sector roles to gather information on China and other U.S. competitors, an account the Defense Department has denied. The proposed program’s existence and status remain contested, and the reporting about its planning traces to six people familiar with the initiative. According to that account, the operatives would pose as businesspeople or other private-sector personnel while concealing government ties. The effort was described as being at the planning stage, not operating. Its organizational structure had not been settled, with options including a separate unit or an expansion of existing military intelligence capabilities. The reporting identified Tom Rakusan, a senior adviser to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, as overseeing the planning. Rakusan is a former CIA officer. The account said personnel from military services and Pentagon intelligence leadership, as well as retired CIA officials, had been involved in planning. Pentagon deputy press secretary Jacob Bliss rejected the claims, saying they were not true and that the people providing them were...