CIA Director John Ratcliffe strongly supports the public release of highly sensitive documents by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to a CIA spokesperson. Ratcliffe initiated the declassification process after assuming his leadership role at the agency this year.
Gabbard's office released a 2017 report drafted by House Intelligence Committee Republicans concerning Russian activity during the 2016 election, raising concerns about potential risks to sensitive sources and methods. She stated the document provided further evidence that Obama administration officials "manufactured" a narrative about Russia's actions to undermine President Trump. Gabbard also declassified a series of documents related to the 2016 election.
The CIA spokesperson emphasized Ratcliffe's commitment to transparency and bringing truth to the American people, highlighting that the release of the report was made possible by his directive to return it to the committee. The House report, finalized in December 2017 and updated through 2020, was highly classified and stored at CIA headquarters before being sent back to the House panel.
The committee made the report available to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). While Gabbard would typically be required to consult with intelligence agencies before declassifying such a report, Mr. Trump, who made the decision to declassify the document with limited redactions, was not under the same obligations.
The report, largely written by then-committee staffer Kash Patel, now the FBI director, discussed raw intelligence from a CIA source recruited in Russia. It questioned whether analysts adequately considered the source's motivations, proximity to Putin, or potential bias towards Mr. Trump. This information contributed to the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA).
The ICA concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government aimed to help then-candidate Donald Trump's election chances. This judgment within the ICA has been a point of contention for Mr. Trump and a focus of Gabbard's recent declassifications.
Gabbard has claimed the released documents reveal a "treasonous conspiracy" by Obama-era officials to undermine Mr. Trump. She has forwarded the records to the Justice Department as part of a criminal referral. The ICA's judgment about Russian actions in 2016 was also the focus of a recent CIA internal review under Ratcliffe.
Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized the release, fearing it could endanger sources and discourage potential spies from working for the U.S. government. Ratcliffe, who previously served on the House Intelligence Committee, has stated his primary objective as CIA director is to reinvigorate intelligence collection from human sources.
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