Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Sunday defended scaling back in-person election security briefings to Congress, accusing some lawmakers of leaking information "within minutes" of those sit-downs.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Ratcliffe said his briefings were "not just the oversight committees but every member of Congress" — and will no longer do so.
A video clip of the exchange was posted by Fox News.
"Within minutes of one of those briefings ending, a number of members of Congress went to a number of different outlets and leaked classified information for political purposes," Ratcliffe said.
"To create a narrative that simply isn't true, that somehow Russia is a greater national security threat than China."
"I don't mean to minimize Russia. They are a serious national security threat, but day in, day out, the threats that we face from China are significantly greater," Ratcliffe said. "Anyone who says otherwise is just politicizing intelligence for their own narrative."
On Friday, Ratcliffe told lawmakers his office “will primarily meet its obligation to keep Congress fully and currently informed leading into the Presidential election through written finished intelligence products.”
He wrote that it would better protect sources and methods while ensuring that it reflects “the highest analytic standards."
House Intelligence Committee chair Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., however, accused the Trump administration of pushing a false narrative to downplay Russian interference in the 2020 election.
"They're going to put it in writing now instead of giving an oral briefing. That 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 said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
"Concealing the truth is concealing Russians are again intervening to help the president in his reelection," he said.
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