Top House Dems Demand Intel Chief Reverse Decision on Briefings or Else They’ll ‘Consider the Full Range of Tools Available to Compel Compliance’
Top Democrats in Congress have been outraged over the decision by Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to scale back in-person election-related intel briefings.
Ratcliffe has said they will continue with written briefings but argued that he’s making this change due to concerns about leaks.
On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intel Committee chair Adam Schiff, and House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee chair Peter Visclosky co-signed a letter addressed to Ratcliffe demanding he reverse his decision.
They call the decision “an abdication of your responsibility to keep the American people and their elected representatives informed of foreign threats to the 2020 election.”
“Written finished intelligence protests are no substitute for intelligence briefings,” the letter says. “Only through regular and in-depth briefings can Members of Congress, as the people’s elected representatives, hear directly from our career intelligence professionals, probe and scrutinize the underlying reporting and basis for intelligence assessments, learn what steps the United States is taking to thwart foreign interference, and ensure that the intelligence judgments are not being influenced or skewed for political purposes.”
The letter cites reports from the intel community last month about Russian attempts to interfere in the U.S. election and “undermine former Vice President Biden’s candidacy.”
It concludes that if Ratcliffe doesn’t reverse the decision, “we will have no choice but to consider the full range of tools available to compel compliance.”
You can read the full letter here.
