Hi there, everyone.

It's 4 o'clock in New York, a quote, counterintelligence disaster.

That's how one former intelligence official is describing a stunning new move by the Trump administration

that could have compromised the identities of countless

stoppers at the country's top spy agency. NBC News is confirming news that was first reported by the

New York Times, reports that the CIA has sent a list of all recent hires in an unclassified

email as part of its effort to comply with an executive order trimming the federal

workforce. That list included the first names and first initials of the last names of everyone

hired in the last two years, meaning that list is a potential gold mine for America's adversaries.

One former senior intelligence official telling NBC News this,

quote, any foreign intelligence service worth its weight could apply research and analytic

tools to marry up these names and initials with other public records to identify and target

many of them. And the New York Times is reporting that the list, quote,

includes a large crop of young analysts and operatives

who were hired specifically to focus on China

and whose identities are usually closely guarded

because Chinese hackers are constantly seeking to identify them.

Compounding the fears that the list could get into the wrong hands, news that we

have been reporting on in the last few days here, that Elon Musk and his team, people with zero

government experience and no expertise in handling classified information, have been burrowing their

way into practically every government agency. New York Times is reporting this.

Some former officials said they worried that the list could be passed on

...