Thomas Veil
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Outcry as US intelligence stops in-person reports to Congress on election security
Decision to provide only updates in writing means oversight panels will not quiz intelligence officials
Along with his refusal to obey subpoenas, this is another way for Trump to tell the people's representatives only what he wants them to know. Just one more sign that we're turning into a fascist state.
Decision to provide only updates in writing means oversight panels will not quiz intelligence officials
Uh, what?The United States’ top intelligence office has told lawmakers it will largely stop holding in-person briefings on election security, signaling that it does not trust lawmakers to keep the information secret.
Ratcliffe. Nothing suspicious there.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.
Uh-huh.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”....
Moving from face-to-face hearings to on-paper reports, the administration was effectively ducking questioning by Congress, Schiff said. “When you hide behind documents and not have to answer questions about it you can conceal the truth.”
Yeah, good luck with that.Schiff implied that the intelligence committee might use its powers of subpoena to force intelligence officials to appear before it...
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 It later rescinded the offer.
Ratcliffe obviously wants to personally review and approve every word that goes out to Congress, rather than risk one of his officers sitting down before a committee and telling them everything that's going on.But there were expressions of unease from the Republican side. Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff to Kirstjen Nielsen when she was homeland security secretary, and now adviser to an anti-Trump campaign group Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform (Repair), told CNN on Sunday morning: “I know John Ratcliffe and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt...but I unequivocally disagree with the decision. In-person briefings are vital.”
Along with his refusal to obey subpoenas, this is another way for Trump to tell the people's representatives only what he wants them to know. Just one more sign that we're turning into a fascist state.