The United States’ top intelligence office has told lawmakers it will largely stop holding in-person briefings on election security, signalling that it does not trust lawmakers to keep the information secret. Donald Trump’s new director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, notified the House and Senate intelligence panels on Friday that it would send written reports instead, giving lawmakers less opportunity to press for details as the 3 November election approaches. An official in Ratcliffe’s office, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Saturday the office was “concerned about unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information following recent briefings”. The move drew a heated rejoinder from House Democrats, who have focused on foreign efforts to sway the presidential election in 2016 and again this year.“This is a shocking abdication of its lawful responsibility to keep the Congress currently informed, and a betrayal of the public’s right to know how foreign powers are trying to subvert our democracy,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the intelligence committee chairman, Adam Schiff, said in a statement. Ratcliffe’s office had offered to hold in-person briefings for the House and Senate oversight panels next month, even after concerns surfaced about leaks from previous meetings, a House committee official said. It later rescinded the offer. The decision was first reported by CNN. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican and acting chairman of the Senate select committee on intelligence, said in a statement late on Saturday that he had spoken to Ratcliffe, who “stated unequivocally” to him that he would fulfil the intelligence community’s obligations to keep members of Congress informed.

All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/30/outcry-as-us-intelligence-stops-in-person-reports-to-congress-on-election-security

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