"We know that the United States and the CIA in particular are notorious for intervening in elections all over the world. There is nothing surprising about that," she said. "I don't know what they did with that information. That's another question because of course spying could lead to some actions. On the other hand, the government has to tap into people's private conversations to know what's going on…. That shows a mentality of suspicion and control."
Johnstone, who authored "Queen of Chaos: The Misadventures of Hillary Clinton," added that news media outlets used to have a wide network of foreign correspondents whose stories served as one of primary sources on what was happening outside the United States.
Johnstone added that this mentality has been reinforced by the need of the military-industrial complex to have adversaries.
"This search for enemies leads to professional paranoia on the part these agencies," she explained.
Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published CIA documents, saying that the agency directed its operatives to infiltrate key French parties, including the Union for a Popular Movement, the Socialist Party and the National Front and use electronic surveillance to monitor its presidential candidates.
The CIA is reported to have been interested among other things in election strategies, internal party dynamics, relations with other countries and views on the EU's economic crisis.
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