Top Intel Office Ends In-person Election Security Briefings to Congress
Election security briefings on the Congress floor has been ended the top U.S. intel office, said National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe on Saturday.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) informed Congress that intel on threats to the election would still be given in a different form, a Voice of America report said.
Specifically, the intel office will be giving updates to Congress through written form, a senior administration official told CNN.
Cutting off election security briefings became a concern for the Congress, said an Al Jazeera report.
Congress is worried about the public's right to know about election security. But a Wall Street Journal report said that the intel office was worried about the Congress leaking sensitive and classified materials.
"They leaked the information ... and what's even worse, they leaked the wrong information, and we got tired of it," President Trump said in a briefing in Texas. He did not give further details to support this statement.
The move was further affected by tensions between Trump's office and Capitol Hill.
An ODNI official said that they are loyal to meeting their duties. At the same time, they also want to keep the Congress fully informed.
They said they switched to written format "to protect sensitive intelligence."
The official added that other agencies tasked to handle election security will still have briefings with Congress. Some of these are the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security.
Abrupt Notice from Intel Office
A House official said the intel office's choice was sudden because it had earlier reached out for an in-person briefing schedule on September 17.
It also runs counter to their pledge of transparency and briefings on election security.
It did come after top officials issued a statement earlier this month saying other countries seek to interfere with the 2020 election. Some of these countries are China, Russian, and Iran.
William Evanina, the nation's counterintelligence chief, stated the matter. He said U.S. officials believe Russia is using various ways to put down Democratic Party's Joe Biden.
He added to the claims, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin is boosting Trump's bid back into the White House.
U.S. officials also believe China does not want Trump to get a second term in the White House, Evanina wrote.
Democrats Slam Intel Office's Move
This news prompted a backlash from Democrats who have pushed for a public release on the said efforts. In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff said the information belongs to the people and not the just agencies.
They stressed that people have the right and the need to know if foreigners are trying to help decide the election. They called the decision a "betrayal" of the public's right to know.
Last week, U.S. officials who were in charge of guarding the election said that they have no information on such attacks. They found no proof that foreign countries are seeking to weaken parts of the voting process.
It was a clear denial of Trump, who claimed that foreign entities are trying to "rig" mail ballots.
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