We reported earlier today on how the intel report about foreign election interference was being delayed because apparently there was an internal battle over what to put in it.
“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,” Amanda Schoch, Assistant DNI for Strategic Communications said in a statement to Fox News…
…Sources told Fox News that a number of senior intelligence analysts are “adamant” that China sought to influence the 2020 presidential election, while a number of others are downplaying China’s activities surrounding the election.
"to submit the IC’s classified assessment on foreign threats to the 2020 U.S. elections. The IC has received relevant reporting since the election and a number of agencies have not finished coordinating on the product." (2/3)
— Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) December 16, 2020
So why are these intelligence officials trying to slow walk the truth? What don’t they want to get out there and why are they delaying it? Are folks trying to delay it until it’s too late to make a difference? Or are they trying not to let things out that support that there were real issues in the election?
Despite this failure to turn over the information on time, CBS’s Catherine Herridge reported what she had been told by the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe.
#BREAKING
CBS News Senior Correspondent @CBS_Herridge reports that @DNI_Ratcliffe has "told CBS News that there was foreign election interference by China, #Iran, and Russia in November of this year [2020]."More to come.pic.twitter.com/bxoWeys5FZ
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) December 16, 2020
Ratcliffe apparently wants the information out there no matter what the stalling from the intel folks.
Herridge reported on how Ratcliffe leads the 17 intelligence agencies and has access to the most highly classified information held by the U.S. government. He told Herridge that there was foreign interference by China, Iran and Russia in November around the election and he is anticipating that report to be released now in January.
What that all encompasses is not clear. We know that there was likely information interference with Chinese bots and other such things, but the question is if there was further interference that could have had any effect on the election. It’s also pretty clear who China, Iran and Russia would prefer to win. Hint: It wasn’t Trump. If there’s more and DNI Ratcliffe has it, that’s a pretty big bombshell for folks to be sitting on.
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