Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper pressed the intelligence community to maintain a unified narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump, even as the National Security Agency raised concerns about the process, according to newly declassified top secret emails.
The emails, disclosed Wednesday by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, reveal that Clapper described the Obama administration’s effort to finalize a revised intelligence community assessment on “Russia Election Meddling” as a “team sport” that might require the community to “compromise” its standards.
The correspondence shows former National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers warning that his agency lacked adequate access to the intelligence underpinning the report’s conclusions.
In a Dec. 22, 2016, email to Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former FBI Director James Comey, Rogers wrote that his team had concerns about the pace of the process and the lack of transparency.
“I know that this activity is on a fast-track and that folks have been working very hard to put together a product that can be provided to the President,” Rogers wrote.
Hellbound and Down 