Amid Struggle To Protect 2020 Election, A 2nd Conflict Rages — Over Transparency

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Earlier this week, Facebook announced it had ejected an influence operation linked with a Russian disruption and trolling mill that sought to sow agitation in the U.S. election.





Joerg Koch/AP



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Joerg Koch/AP



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This dispute also is the product of grim experience since 2016, years in which Democrats and Republicans have fought bitterly about the Russia investigation, the insights of the intelligence community and significance of each to the political life in the capital.

Ratcliffe invoked that subtext in his letter to members of Congress announcing the end of in-person presentations, which said was to be sure the product of the spy agencies is «not misunderstood nor politicized.

Political intelligence

Accusations and counter-accusations surrounding foreign election interference are now part of the stock script within the capital, and the latest dispute before Ratcliffe’s cutoff was about the proper interpretation of intelligence about which nations are most dangerous.

Ratcliffe’s office has said that Russia, China and Iran all are engaged in interference activity this year, following an official line from President Trump that «many nations have targeted the United States.

Democrats insist that creates a false equivalence that demotes the importance of Russia, which Pelosi said in her letter on Tuesday is the most dangerous antagonist of all because of the multiplicity of its activities.

Russia intervened in 2016 to help Trump against Hillary Clinton and intelligence officials have said Moscow is working again to denigrate Democratic nominee Joe Biden, offering more de facto help for Trump.

A report by ABC News on Wednesday raised questions about whether administration officials might have looked the other way and withheld a notice to law enforcement when they’d learned about Russian efforts to attack Biden’s health or mental condition.

Critics including a former CIA station chief, John Sipher, say Trump’s appointment of reliable allies to top administration jobs has effectively let the administration run intelligence like a political operation, disclosing that which it believes may help its case and withholding that which hit doesn’t.

Ratcliffe vowed specifically that he would not be that kind of director of national intelligence and Trump’s campaign has said it believes it needs no help from any foreign government to defeat Biden on its own.

All along, meanwhile, the intelligence agencies have kept up an unprecedented flow of information to reporters, including in a briefing late last month.

Before the flap that was to follow between Pelosi and Ratcliffe, the intelligence officials gave reporters some relatively good news: They’ve seen fewer concerted cyberattacks like those seen in 2016 and, notwithstanding claims to the contrary by Trump and some supporters, there is no evidence to support allegations about a big foreign plot to target voting by mail.