"Some CIA officers understood that the German leader was then and is now privy to secret plans to destroy pipelines," he writes.
According to Hersh, all the documents created during the planning of the US sabotage on the Nord Stream in the Baltic Sea were probably physically destroyed immediately after the success of the operation.
The journalist's investigation claims that Nord Stream was mined by divers from the United States: they operated under the cover of the BALTOPS 22 exercise, which took place in the Baltic Sea from June 5 to 17, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agreed with Hersh's conclusions that US intelligence agencies were behind the attacks.