The U.S. Army rejected a claim made last week by retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney in which he said U.S. Army special forces soldiers may have been killed in a mission last month to capture servers in Germany, which he claimed the CIA was operating in some effort to alter the 2020 election outcome.
When asked if U.S. special forces died in an operation to retrieve a server with election data from a CIA facility in Germany, a U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) spokesman told American Military News, “The allegations are false.”
In an interview this weekend with WVW Broadcast Network host Brannon Howse, McInerney had said President Donald Trump and attorney Sidney Powell were working with the U.S. Army’s 305th Military Intelligence Battalion to gather information about foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. election and then said U.S. special forces raided a server facility in Frankfurt, Germany, which was operated by the CIA and which had stored U.S. election data from five or six states.
Asked if the alleged Special Forces raid went without incident, McInerney said, “I’ve heard it didn’t go down without incident. I haven’t been able to verify it, I want to be careful in that it’s just coming out, but I understand, my initial report is that there were U.S. soldiers killed in that operation.”
“Now, that was a CIA operation, so that’s the very worrisome thing,” McInerney added.
Howse asked McInerney to confirm he was saying the server facility he claims was raided by U.S. special forces was operated by the CIA. McInerney said, “That’s correct.”
McInerney also claimed the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion is nicknamed “The Kraken.” In an interview last month with Fox Business’ Lou Dobbs, Powell said she was amassing claims of voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 U.S. election and said, “I’m going to release the Kraken.”
Military.com reported that since McInerney made his claims, the allegations quickly spread across social media platforms.
The USASOC spokesman did not directly reference McInerney but said the allegations are false.
According to the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion’s official Facebook page, the unit is based out of Fort Huachuca, Arizona and is part of the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade. The 305th Military Intelligence Battalion is itself an entry-level training intel battalion, comprised largely of U.S. Army privates direct from Army basic training, who are still training for their first military jobs.
McInerney attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Military Times reported McInerney flew in more than 400 combat missions during the Vietnam War. During his service, McInerney earned numerous honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster and Bronze Star Medal with “V” device and oak leaf cluster. McInerney went on to serve as the Air Force assistant vice chief of staff in July of 1992 before retiring from the military in 1994.
Military.com reported McInerney has drawn criticisms for past comments he has made. He was reportedly a contributor at Fox News but was fired from the network in 2018 after saying torture “worked” on the late Sen. John McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McInerney also reportedly promoted claims President Barack Obama is not a U.S. Citizen.
In the Spring of 2019, McInerney joined on as a policy advisor for a group formed with former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, called “The Committee on the Present Danger: China” focused on foreign policy threats involving China. McInerney was also among 235 retired military leaders who signed a letter endorsing President Trump’s reelection bid.
