ANNOUNCES OVER THE WEEKEND HIS
AGENCY WILL NO LONGERING BRIEFIN
CHARGED WITH OVERSIGHT OF THAT
COMMITTEE.
THE TOP DEMOCRAT ON THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, ALWAYS
IN THE PAST BEEN BIPARTISAN
JOINS ME NOW.
SENATOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
A LOT OF CONCERN FROM THE HOUSE
SIDE OVER THIS CUTTING OFF OF
THE IN-PERSON BRIEFINGS BECAUSE
WE KNOW IN A STATEMENT FIRST OF
ALL THAT’S NOT SWORN TESTIMONY
WHEN THEY SEND SOMETHING IN
WRITING, THAT IS RELEASED
PUBLICLY, AND THEY CAN’T BE
QUESTIONED.
CAN’T BE QUESTIONED ABOUT, YOU
KNOW, WHAT ARE THE OTHER
ANALYSTS SAYING AND HOW DO YOU
REACH THESE CONCLUSIONS?
ACCORDING TO RATCLIFFE, THIS
WEEKEND WITH FOX BUSINESS, HE’S
SAYING IT’S BECAUSE HE THOUGHT
THAT RUSSIA WAS UNFAIRLY BEING
CONSIDERED THE BIGGEST THREAT
WHEN HE SAYS CHINA IS THE
BIGGEST THREAT.
IF YOU COULD UNPACK SOME OF
THAT?
>> ANDREA, THERE’S A LOT TO
UNPACK THERE, AND YOU KNOW LET
ME STEP BACK FOR A MOMENT AND
ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK WE ALL
WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE.
IF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
AND FRANKLY EVEN IF THE OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION IN 2016 HAD BEEN
MORE FORWARD LEANING ABOUT
INFORMING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC OF
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN 2016,
WE’D BE ALL BETTER OFF.
OUR COMMITTEE, WHICH HAS BEEN
BIPARTISAN, WE LOOKED AT THE
RUSSIA INTERVENTION, WE FINISHED
FIVE VOLUMES WE KNOW RUSSIA IS
BACK DOING IT AGAIN.
THIS TIME TRYING TO DISCREDIT
JOE BIDEN, AND MY THEORY IS THAT
WHAT DIRECTOR RATCLIFFE IS
TRYING TO DO, LIMIT THE FLOW OF
INFORMATION, NOT ONLY TO THE
CONGRESS, BUT TO THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC.
THE PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE REALLY
OFFENDED ABOUT THIS IS THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC, BECAUSE IF THEY
ARE GOING TO BE THE OBJECTS OF A
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN, AND I
THINK IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US TO
GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE
PUBLIC AND THAT DIRECTY
RATCLIFFE IS TRYING TO LIMIT
THAT FLOW OF INFORMATION, NOT
ALLOWING INTELLIGENCE
PROFESSIONALS TO COME UP AND
BRIEF OUR COMMITTEES AND ALLOW
THAT GIVE AND TAKE WITH AN
INTELLIGENCE PROFESSIONAL, WHICH
IS, AGAIN, MUCH MORE POWERFUL
THAN SIMPLY GETTING A WRITTEN
DOCUMENT, THAN WE’RE NOT GOING
TO BE ABLE TO DO OUR JOB.
I DON’T THINK HIS DECISION CAN
STAND.
SENATOR RUBIO, ACTING CHAIR AND
I HAD A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS.
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS.
AGAIN, I DON’T THINK THIS CAN
STAND BOTH IN TERMS OF HIS LEGAL
OBLIGATION FOR THE OVERSIGHT
COMMITTEES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY,
THE REQUIREMENT TO INFORM THE
AMERICAN ELECTORATE.
LAST POINT, JUST BOTH OF, MR.
TRUMP’S PRIOR DIRECTORS OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, DAN COATS
AND JOHN MAGUIRE MADE ELECTION
SECURITY THEIR TOP PRIORITIY.
SAID ABSOLUTELY THINK ESSENTIAL
DUTY TO INFORM THE AMERICAN
PUBLIC.
I FIND IT DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED
RATCLIFFE DOES NOT SEEM TO SHARE
THAT COMMITMENT.
>> AND BOTH OF THEM WERE FIRED
IN PART FOR THAT.
>> POTENTIALLY FIRED BECAUSE
THEY TOLD THE TRUTH!
>> EXACTLY.
SO ONE ARE THE ISSUES IS RUSSIA
PARTICULARLY.
WHEN RATCLIFFE DNI RELEASED
PUBLIC THREATS TO ELECTION
SECURITY THEY TRIED TO CREATE,
MY WORDS, A FALSE EQUIVALENCY
BETWEEN RUSSIA, CHINA AND IRAN.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE WHITE
HOUSE WANTED TO FOCUS ON CHINA
AND IRAN, BAD ACTORS.
YOU KNOW.
BUT THAT THEY WERE ASPIRATIONAL
ON BEHALF, CHINA WAS
ASPIRATIONAL, IT SUGGESTED, ON
BEHALF OF JOE BIDEN WHEREAS
RUSSIA WAS ACTUALLY DOING THINGS
ON BEHALF OF DONALD TRUMP.
AND YESTERDAY RATCLIFFE SAID IT
WAS, YOU KNOW, FALSELY SAYING
THAT RUSSIA WAS THE BIGGEST
THREAT.
SEEMS THAT THE FOCUS ON RUSSIA
BY MANY OF THE PEOPLE COMING OUT
OF THE COMMITTEES IS WHAT SET
THE WHITE HOUSE OFF AND WHICH
MAY HAVE LED TO THIS CRACKDOWN?
>> WELL, IF YOU LOOK AT EVEN THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE,
WE WERE VERY CONCERNED AT THE
INTEL COMMUNITY, THEY WERE NOT
BEING FORTHCOMING.
A CAREER PROFESSIONAL, SOMEBODY
I HAVE A LOT OF FAITH IN, CAME
OUT ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO WITH A,
I THINK A CLEARER STATEMENT THAT
TALKED ABOUT RUSSIAN ATTEMPTS TO
DISCREDIT JOE BIDEN, NAMING
UKRAINIAN INDIVIDUALS, AND ONE
OF THE THINGS WE’D BEEN TRYING
TO PRESS IS, LET’S EVEN GET MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT TO THE
AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT THE
SPECIFICS OF ALL THREE OF THESE
COUNTRY’S ACTIONS, BUT AS YOU
ACCURATELY POINT OUT, EVEN THE
TRUMP INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IS
