Director of National Intelligence informs Congressional committees it'll no longer brief on election security - CNNPolitics
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • 4 years ago • 27 commentsBy: Jake Tapper and Zachary Cohen (CNN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
(CNN)The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing on election security issues, a senior administration official told CNN. It'll provide written updates, the official said.
The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, intend to continue briefing Congress. CNN is reaching out to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and committee officials for comment. The abrupt announcement is a change of course that runs counter to the pledge of transparency and regular briefings on election threats by the intelligence community. Last month, the top intelligence official for election security, Bill Evanina, reiterated a commitment to providing "robust intelligence-based briefings on election security" to key stakeholders that include Congress, along with the political parties and presidential campaigns.
Earlier this month, Evanina released an unprecedented statement saying China "prefers" an outcome where President Donald Trump is not reelected in November and Russia is working to "denigrate" former Vice President Joe Biden's White House bid. "We assess that China prefers that President Trump -- whom Beijing sees as unpredictable -- does not win reelection," he wrote. "China has been expanding its influence efforts ahead of November 2020 to shape the policy environment in the United States, pressure political figures it views as opposed to China's interests, and deflect and counter criticism of China." "We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia 'establishment.' This is consistent with Moscow's public criticism of him when he was Vice President for his role in the Obama Administration's policies on Ukraine and its support for the anti-Putin opposition inside Russia," Evanina added.
Evanina also stated that Iran is seeking to "undermine US democratic institutions, President Trump, and to divide the country." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff said Evanina's statement improved on the previous warning about foreign election interference he issued in July, but "still treats three actors of differing intent and capability as equal threats to our democratic elections." In a joint statement issued at the time, the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sens. Marco Rubio and Mark Warner, thanked Evanina for providing the additional information about the threats and encouraged the intelligence community to "continue to make this information available."
This story has been updated with additional details.
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Nancy Pelosi should announce immediate House hearings into this dereliction of duty.
Trump is putting the entire nation in jeopardy. He knows the only way he can win is to utilize foreign assistance, and prevent others from doing anything about it. Dirty tricks and nonsense is all he has.
Trump doesn't read his intelligence briefings. Trump won't pay attention during his infrequent in-person intelligence briefings. You don't need any of that if you're a stable genius and already know everything better than anyone else.
I don't about the rest of you, but I have no intention of ever eating borscht. Trump needs be brought up on charges of treason before the year ends.
Why? We know Nancy and Chuck will leak secrets for political advantage
Lawyers and intelligence don't mix. From the seeded article:
The briefings aren't for public dissemination. When partisan members of Congress begin using intelligence briefings for a political shit show, then there is a real risk of burning intelligence assets.
How is the intelligence community supposed to monitor foreign interference when politicians start blabbing to the world?
All those people sworn to secrecy can't keep a frickin secret.
They're lawyers, aren't they?
Nah. I mean they may be licensed; but to me, that's not the same thing. A lawyer cares about confidentiality. Politicians do not.
There is a breed of person, ambitious for political power, who goes to law school for the express purpose of getting into politics. They don't keep secrets. They use them to grab more power.
Really?
A good example of what I'm talking about, actually. Although it perhaps is not the path most of them take, it's definitely a path to power that he seeks.
Michael Avenatti is mulling a run for president again after declaring he would not seek nomination
I seem to remember that the Obama administration wanted to downplay this kind of thing right before the election. When they did it, they thought they were minimizing election interference. Here in 2020, we probably don't need even more spectacle from elected officials about their fears of interference.
Besides, the House and Senate are barely in session between now and Election Day, anyway. Just a few weeks each, I think.
I'm sure if Congress is really concerned about it, they can have people testify in person after the election.
Trump is accused of a coverup of foreign interference in the election.
This is only the beginning.
America is being attacked by the Trump administration and people better wake up.
Trump and his lap dog DNI head John Ratcliffe say that they must deny this information because Sciff is a leaker.
The bogus nature of this claim is made plain by the fact that the Senate Intelligence Committee is being deprived of the information as well, not just Schiffs committee in the House.
Is there any dept. of this government that isn't betraying there duties? Now we have Intelligence services, that work for the american people the the White House, refusing to disseminate information about election interference to the US Congress. Sounds to me like somebody needs to be charged for dereliction of duty and betrayal of their oath to defend the Constitution.
What is it with conservatives and oaths, they break any oath they make. It doesn't matter if they swore an oath in the military, for civic duty (as police or other law enforcement or as civilians working in things like US INTELLIGENCE AGENCY'S) or for elected office. Conservatives seem pay lip service to their oaths to the Constitution or the Bible and then wipe their asses with it. See the Trump admin, the police, the SEALS, (Gallegher and the senior command really f'd up that organization, but then I haven't met any seal worth a shit since the 90's), even Fallwell Jr. has fallen and broken his marriage vows before God. Isn't that supposed to be important to Evangelical christians or are they just paying lip service to their God?
My point is just this: IF you swear an oath, Honor it.
Agency's work for Us NOT the folks in the WH.