Marc Polymeropoulos
American intelligence officer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Marc Polymeropoulos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marc E. Polymeropoulos Athens, Greece |
| Education | Cornell University |
| Occupation | Intelligence officer |
| Known for | Possible Havana syndrome carrier |
Early life
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.[5]
Polymeropoulos holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cornell University.[6]
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.[7][2] The symptoms persisted after his return to the United States, and he was eventually diagnosed with occipital neuralgia.[8]
He stated that the CIA's Office of Medical Services initially determined his symptoms were not consistent with those of diplomats affected in Havana.[9] He retired from the CIA in 2019, citing his inability to work due to persistent headaches.[8] He has publicly attributed his condition to a possible directed-energy attack and has called for greater government support for affected officers.[9] 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.[10]
Polymeropoulos has been featured in major investigative reporting on Havana syndrome, including Julia Ioffe's 2020 GQ investigation "The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion"[7] and the CBS News 60 Minutes investigation.[11]
He has also briefed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on anomalous health incidents.[12]
Post-CIA career
After retiring, he authored Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA, published by HarperCollins in June 2021.[5] The book was reviewed by the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.[13]
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
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."[14] The letter was signed by 51 former intelligence officials.[15]
In April 2023, he testified before the House Judiciary Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a transcribed interview.[16] He stated that Morell told him that "someone from kind of the Biden world had asked for this".[16] 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.[17]
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of the letter's signatories.[18]