The Intelligence Community (IC)s engagement with Congress on election-related issues will be primarily going through “written finished intelligence products,” the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee Saturday.
In an Aug. 28 letter obtained by Politico addressing to Marco Rubio, acting chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee, and Mark Warner, vice chairman of the committee, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said the move will smooth the communication.
“In order to ensure clarity and consistency across the Office of the Director of National Intelligences (ODNIs) engagement with Congress on elections, the ODNI will primarily meet its obligation to keep Congress fully and currently informed leading into the Presidential election through written finished intelligence products,” Ratcliffe wrote.
The IC has provided more than 60 defensive briefings and election security updates to Congress since the 2018 elections, more than a dozen of them happened in the past few months.
Many of these briefings and updates were productive and successful, he said.
However, there are several concerns the director raised about Congress members handling of the information, including information on election security, foreign malign influence, and election interference being misunderstood and politicized and sensitive intelligence being leaked.
Ratcliffe didnt elaborate on the incidents related to the above concerns.
The finished intelligence reporting will also ensure the information provided by ODNI be of the “highest analytic standards,” he said in the statement.
The office of Rubio didnt respond to an email request for comment immediately.
Rachel Cohen, Sen. Warners communication director, said in an emailed statement that the Senate Intelligence Committee has not received any letter from the ODNI on this.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said the ODNIs move is “shameful.”
“This is shameful and—coming only weeks before the election—demonstrates that the Trump Administration is engaged in a politicized effort to withhold election-related information from Congress and the American people at the precise moment that greater transparency and accountability is required,” they said in a statement.
“We expect the Administration and Intelligence Community to keep us fRead More From Source
