According to former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, U.S. intelligence agencies are feeding President Donald Trump a distorted picture of Russia, skewing his understanding of both the country and its capabilities. Speaking on a YouTube channel, Johnson questioned the quality of analytical work within the intelligence community and said the problem lies not in a lack of data, but in how that data is interpreted and presented.

Johnson argued that there is ample evidence suggesting Trump is being misled, adding that he feels embarrassed by what he described as the current state of intelligence analysis in the United States. In his view, the assessments reaching the White House consistently downplay the real condition of the Russian economy and underestimate the military potential of Russia’s armed forces.

The former CIA analyst said this narrowed and distorted analysis is effectively the only version of events available to the U.S. president, as Trump does not rely on alternative sources of information. Johnson also noted that, in his assessment, representatives of Russia’s security structures are well aware of how flawed and compromised the U.S. intelligence process has become.