Russiagate: Ratcliffe Rules

DNI John Ratcliffe dominates this episode of Russiagate. When he was selected as the permanent replacement for Rick Grenell, I only hoped he could be half as effective. But he has exceeded beyond my expectations. Dan Payne at JTN, DNI Ratcliffe informs Congress that election security briefings will now be given in written form

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe informed senators and representatives on Friday that election security briefings, previously given to Congress in person, will between now and the November elections be delivered in written form.

The letter, which was sent on Friday and declassified on Saturday afternoon, notes that the intelligence community has given Congress dozens of briefings on election security over the past two years.

"While many of these engagements and products have been successful and productive, others have been less so," Ratcliffe wrote in the document.

"In order to ensure clarity and consistency across the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's ... engagements with Congress on elections," Ratcliffe continued, "the ODNI will primary meet its obligation to keep Congress fully and currently informed leading into the Presidential election through written finished intelligence products."

Ratcliffe said the move will help ensure that intelligence information is neither "misunderstood nor politicized," and that the new protocol will "protect our sources and methods and most sensitive intelligence from additional unauthorized disclosures or misuse."

Democrats on Saturday evening slammed the decision. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wrote on Twitter that the move represented "a shocking abdication of [ODNI's] responsibility to keep Congress informed."

Jordan Davis, Da Fed,  New Director Of National Intelligence: Congress Illegally Leaks Classified Intel So Much I’m Cutting Them Off

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe joined Maria Bartimoro on “Sunday Morning Futures” today to discuss new intelligence briefing procedures for Congress on security threats like China.

“We’ve had a pandemic of information being leaked out of the intelligence community and I’m going to take the measures to make sure that that stops,” Ratcliffe said.

In his first interview since he was sworn into office, Ratcliffe explained that an increasing number of leaks by Congress for “political purposes,” such as promoting Russian collusion, have motivated him to change to only giving limited or written briefings for those “who are entitled to it.”

“We’ll do what’s required by law. Those members who are entitled to the briefings and classified information will still get that information,” Ratcliffe assured. “What we won’t be doing is all-member briefings. We’ve tried that and the information hasn’t been protected.”

According to Ratcliffe, many of the politicians leaking information want 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.”

“China is the greatest threat that we face,” he added.

Sundance at CTH has the video: Sunday Talks – DNI John Ratcliffe Extensive Interview….



Jerry Dunleavy, John Ratcliffe says he has filed 'crimes reports' over leaks of classified intelligence

Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who has overseen the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies since May, also defended his decision to shift election security briefings from in-person to in writing over concerns about leaks and politicization during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News.

“There are investigations” into potentially illegal leaks and that “I know that because I’ve made a number of what are called crimes reports in connection since I’ve been the DNI," Ratcliffe said. "When I become aware of intelligence community information that is disclosed unlawfully, I do what’s called a crimes report — I’ve done that now on a number of occasions, and so those investigations are moving forward.”

The "timing of any prosecutions," he said, "would be something that the FBI would have to address, and I think that they will down the road.”

also, John Ratcliffe says he is coordinating with John Durham and plans to declassify more documents soon

“We’ve actually, for several months, been coordinating with his team of folks to make sure that he has access to all of the intelligence community documents that he needs,” Ratcliffe said of Durham. “He’s looking at the same, some of the same documents that I am, and so our work is running on parallel paths. Now, his is a criminal investigation, and he’s not sharing his findings or the work that he’s doing, but I’m coordinating with him to make sure that he has the intelligence documents that he needs to do his work, and what I don’t want to do is declassify something that might prejudice his work, so we’re going to have to coordinate as we go forward the completion of his work with my ability to declassify documents, and so we’ve communicated along those lines.”

and from Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Ratcliffe Says He Is Coordinating With John Durham, Plans To Declassify More Trump-Russia Documents. That'll piss off the Democrats, not that they need more.

“I’m coordinating with him to make sure that he has the intelligence documents that he needs to do his work, and what I don’t want to do is declassify something that might prejudice his work so we’re going to have to coordinate as we go forward,” said Ratcliffe, a former U.S. congressman from Texas.

Ric Grenell thinks Ratcliffe is hunky and dory too, Sundance, Sunday Talks – Richard “Ric” Grenell Discusses DNI Ratcliffe’s Challenges and Security Leaks…



But wait, there is other news, Rowan Scarborough at WaEx, McCain associate planned anti-Trump leaks to Washington Post columnist. McCain might have been a little shit, but he was our little shit.

And Politico worries about 5 ways Steve Bannon could beat the rap. But, he could just be innocent, and this is a set up by the SDNY persecutors to smear a Trump ally.