Russian bots fueled Jade Helm fears in Texas, says former CIA chief Michael Hayden Democrats quickly pile on, say Gov. Abbott was duped by Moscow

A convoy of National Guard troops moves on Camp Swift, which is also hosting the Operation Jade Helm 15 military exercise, in Bastrop, Texas, on Wednesday July 15, 2015. Jade Helm 15 is summer military training exercise that has aroused alarm among archconservative Texans. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) AUSTIN CHRONICLE OUT, COMMUNITY IMPACT OUT, INTERNET AND TV MUST CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STATESMAN.COM, MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT less A convoy of National Guard troops moves on Camp Swift, which is also hosting the Operation Jade Helm 15 military exercise, in Bastrop, Texas, on Wednesday July 15, 2015. Jade Helm 15 is summer military ... more Photo: Jay Janner, Associated Press Photo: Jay Janner, Associated Press Image 1 of / 63 Caption Close Russian bots fueled Jade Helm fears in Texas, says former CIA chief Michael Hayden 1 / 63 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — Russian bots helped fuel fears in Texas over the Jade Helm military exercise three years ago in a test by Moscow that led to a misinformation campaign in the U.S. electoral process, the former CIA director asserted this week.

Michael Hayden, in an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe show on Wednesday, said the Jade Helm controversy in 2015 was stirred by the Russians as a test to see how much influence they could exert through online means.

After Gov. Greg Abbott put the state guard on call to monitor the federal training exercises, Hayden speculated that the Russians decided to expand their disinformation campaign.

Hayden, a retired Air Force four-star general who also ran the National Security Agency under President Obama, appeared on the show promoting his new book.

"They took their game to North America in 2015, and I won't belabor it here but there was an exercise in Texas called Jade Helm 15 that Russian bots and the American alt-right media convinced most — many — Texans was an Obama plan to round up political dissidents," Hayden said on the show.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: With Jade Helm nearing, the suspicious turn on the monitor

"It got so much traction that the governor of Texas had to call out the National Guard to observe the federal exercise to keep the population calm. At that point, I'm figuring the Russians are saying 'We can go big time' and at that point I think they made the decision, 'We're going to play in the electoral process.'"

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Texas governor orders troops to 'monitor' Jade Helm

Hayden said the Jade Helm misinformation campaign affirmed that they could use cultural and political splits to generate controversy in the United States — a strategy that reports indicate they have continued to use to sow division on other issues since then, including in the 2016 presidential election.

Abbott's office had no comment.

Democrats jumped on the report.

Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, in a statement reaffirmed the party's criticism of Abbott's decision and called the governor "a Russian pawn and a useful idiot for Russian efforts to instill fear and distrust in our American institutions."

"Michael Hayden knows a Russian operation when he sees it," Garcia said. " . . . It doesn't take an intelligence expert to see that Trump Republican Greg Abbott calling the Texas National Guard on the U.S. Military was downright idiocy."

Other state officials noted that Abbott did not call out or activate the Texas National Guard.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez said the report confirms that Abbott "was duped by Russian bots.

"He indulged in awful conspiracy theories against our own men and women in uniform," she said in a statement. "He was a puppet in a Russian infowar that sowed distrust amongst Americans and paved the way for foreign intervention in our elections. This is who is lecturing us on being smart on security and integrity in our electoral process?"

Mike Ward, the Houston Chronicle's Austin Bureau chief, covers Texas politics and the governor's office and the executive branch, along with criminal justice and ethics issues. Follow him on Twitter @ChronicleMike and send him story tips at Mike.Ward@Chron.com.