Latest

Intel Report on election interference will not be turned in on time due to reported dispute

December 17, 2020 | | Print Article

President Donald Trump will not be receiving an expected intelligence report on foreign threats to the 2020 election as it will now reportedly be delayed.

Although Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe revealed that there was “foreign interference by China, Iran, and Russia” in the November U.S. elections, “career intelligence officials” have reportedly said they will not meet the December 18 deadline to release an assessment to the president.

The classified report, which is due 45 days after the election per an Executive Order by the president, is now being postponed as “relevant reporting” has affected the coordination of information by the intelligence community, according to the office of the DNI.

But Fox News reported that there has been a “dispute among senior intelligence analysts” over the extent of China’s efforts to interfere in last month’s election. Trump, who was accompanied by Ratcliffe to the Army-Navy football game last weekend, will now not be handed the 2020 Intelligence Community Assessment on Friday as was expected.

CBS News senior correspondent Catherine Herridge reported that Ratcliffe had noted election interference in 2020 by China, Iran, and Russia and was anticipating the report.

“DNI Ratcliffe leads the 17 intelligence agencies and he has access to the most highly classified information that is held by the US government,” Herridge reported Wednesday. “And he told CBS News that there was foreign interference by China, Iran, and Russia in November of this year and he is anticipating a public report on those findings in January.”

But in a statement Wednesday evening, Amanda Schoch, assistant DNI for Strategic Communications, announced that the report was not going to be released on time.

“This afternoon the DNI was notified by career intelligence officials that the Intelligence Community will not meet the December 18 deadline, set by Executive Order and Congress, to submit the IC’s classified assessment on foreign threats to the 2020 U.S. elections,” Schoch wrote.

Some senior intelligence analysts were reportedly “adamant” that China was seeking to influence the 2020 presidential election, and that there was “ample raw intelligence” to back those views, according to Fox News sources. Others, however, disagree and contend that the communist nation’s efforts were only “minimal” or they did not pan out.

A senior intelligence official told Fox News that “all that Ratcliffe wants is for the intelligence to be reflected accurately and honestly with regard to China and everything else.”

Another intelligence official told the network that “proper analytic tradecraft would stipulate that when there are competing views like this, that both views should be captured in the report.”

Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell seemed to have the same view, tweeting out on Wednesday that Ratcliffe is “standing up for career analysts who want their views to be accurately reflected. In other words, fighting to keep intelligence from being politicized.”

Ratcliffe and FBI Director Christopher Wray had already warned before the election that Russia and Iran were seeking to interfere in the outcome of the race by trying to damage Trump’s chances.

“These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,” Ratcliffe said at the time.

He also warned that China is the “greatest national security threat that we face,” during an interview with Fox News earlier this month.

The reported dispute in the intelligence community on the level of China’s threat to the U.S. comes despite reports that have revealed a Chinese spy scandal involving Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. The delay in getting the intelligence report to the president, who still has not conceded the 2020 race to Democrat Joe Biden, was slammed as unacceptable by social media users.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

$10
$15
$25
$50
Other
$
Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Frieda Powers
Latest posts by Frieda Powers (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

PLEASE JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and great conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-input your email address for this. The public will not see it and we do not share it.

Latest Articles