Declassification

 

Trump pushing to declassify document disputing intel findings on Russia: report

President Trump and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe have moved to declassify a document that counters the intelligence finding that Russia attempted to get Trump elected in 2016, Reuters reported Thursday.

Three U.S. government officials told Reuters that the president and his intelligence chief have advocated for the document’s release. 

But two officials said their calls for declassification have been met with opposition from within the intelligence agencies, with some objecting that such a release would be too close to Election Day.

Ratcliffe in an Oct. 15 letter to the inspector general for intelligence obtained by Reuters said he wanted to declassify the document after House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) called for it.

“I have requested that the document undergo a formal declassification review in response to a request” from Nunes, Ratcliffe said. 

His letter also mentioned that Republicans had asked for the declassification of the information in 2018 when the GOP held the House.