The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is scaling back its election security briefings to the congressional intelligence committees, according to two sources familiar with the matter
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ODNI told congressional officials that it will still provide written briefings, but that they should not expect verbal, in-person briefings on the topic, according to a congressional official.The move is likely to enrage congressional Democrats, who have long charged the Trump administration with downplaying threats to U.S. elections from foreign actors, especially Russia.ODNI decided to scale back the briefings because classified material from recent briefings leaked out, according to a U.S.
Evanina ultimately acknowledged in that briefing that Russia is again trying to boost President Donald Trump’s reelection and denigrate his opponent, Joe Biden. In a statement at the time, an ODNI official said Evanina was “incredibly disappointed in the inability of some to protect classified information they are legally obligated to safeguard and instead attempt to use it for partisan gain.”
On the more recent moratorium on verbal briefings, an ODNI official provided this statement to POLITICO: “We are committed to meeting our statutory responsibilities and keeping Congress fully and currently informed. For clarity and to protect sensitive intelligence from unauthorized disclosures, we will primarily do that through written finished intelligence products. We are concerned about unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information following recent briefings.
FBI Director Chris Wray also recently dodged Democrats’ requests for all-member briefings. In response to their requests that he brief the full House and Senate on election threats, Wray wrote a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mark Warner and Reps.
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