Trump Says Intelligence Briefings On Election Canceled Because Of ‘Leakers’—Democrats Call It ‘Deeply Alarming’

An ODNI official told CNN the office was “concerned with unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information following recent briefings” but was still “committed” to keeping Congress “fully and currently informed.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) railed against the decision, calling it a “shocking abdication of [the office’s] lawful responsibility to keep the Congress currently informed.”

“Whether it was Shifty Schiff or somebody else, they leak the information before it gets in,” Trump said during a press conference in Texas, adding “you have leakers on the committee, leakers who are doing bad things…probably not even legal to leak.”

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told CNN the goal was likely to “avoid the back-and-forth of questions [that happen during briefings], some of which could be quite probing,” before implying that the DNI doesn’t want to run the risk of “saying something that might incur the wrath of the President.”

The decision comes after a statement issued earlier this month from top election security official Bill Evanina warning that threats to the November election could come from Russia, China and Iran—prompting Democrats to call for information about these threats be publicly released.

The statement noted Russia has been actively working against Joe Biden’s campaign on social media, Iran has been “trying to undermine U.S. democratic institutions in advance of the 2020 elections,” and China would prefer that President Trump, who Beijing sees as “unpredictable,” lose to the election Joe Biden.