Published 11:45 IST, August 31st 2020
US intelligence chief John Ratcliffe blames lawmakers for 'pandemic' of leaks
US intelligence chief John Ratcliffe defended his move to end in-person election security briefings to Congress by blaming a ‘pandemic’ of leaks from lawmakers.
The US intelligence chief John Ratcliffe on August 30 reportedly defended his move to end in-person election security briefings to Congress by blaming a ‘pandemic’ of leaks from lawmakers. Ratcliffe had written to top lawmakers from both the parties in the House and Senate intelligence committees, explaining the change. He had voiced frustration over leaks from a counterintelligence briefing to Congress a month ago informing lawmakers that China, Russia and Iran were all seeking to interfere.
However, while speaking to an international media outlet, the Director of National Intelligence said that a number of members of Congress spoke to a number of different publications and leaked classified information. Ratcliffe reportedly said that the ‘leakers’ aimed to create a narrative that simply isn’t true, that somehow Russia is a greater national security threat than China.
The US official said that he is going to continue to keep Congress informed, but also noted that there has been a ‘pandemic of information being leaked’ out of the intelligence community. Ratcliffe added that he is going to take the measure to make sure that it stops.
While the US President Donald Trump is downplaying the threat of foreign interference by saying that it being politicised by the Democrats, Ratcliffe reportedly said that Russia is a serious national threat, but the threats from China are significantly greater. The intelligence chief also added that anyone that sees intelligence known that, and anyone who says otherwise is just politicising intelligence for their own narrative.
Ratcliffe’s move ‘makes no sense’
If and when the in-person briefings are ended, they will still be given in writing, Ratcliffe said. The announcement, however, sparked accusations that the lawmakers were effectively being stripped of the ability to question what they were being told. House of Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff reportedly said that Ratcliffe’s move doesn’t make any sense unless the goal is not to allow members of Congress, the representatives of the American people, to ask questions.
Schiff added that it is an ‘illogical inconsistency’ to say that the ‘you’re going to put it on paper so I can’t leak rather than speak to the Congress’. He reportedly accused the White House of pushing a false narrative that Russian election interference to help Trump was no different than other countries are doing.
Meanwhile, according to a detailed report released last month, the National Counterintelligence and Security Centre raised fears of a repeat of 2016 election, when Russia was accused of manipulating social media to help Trump and hut his opponent Hillary Clinton. The NCSC noted of foreign threats and said that Russia is backing Donald Trump, China is supporting Joe Biden and Iran is seeking to sow chaos. While the upcoming November elections are already under siege amid the pandemic, the NCSC director warned that foreign adversaries may try to interfere with election systems by trying to sabotage the voting process, stealing election data systems or questioning the validity of results.
(Image: @WayneLuke/Twitter)
Updated 11:45 IST, August 31st 2020