House Democrats to investigate DHS withholding report warning of Russian misinformation attack on Biden
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday slammed the Department of Homeland Security for not releasing a draft intelligence bulletin that warned of a Russian plan to promote "allegations about the poor mental health" of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
ABC News first reported that the bulletin was written in July by the DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. After the chief of staff to acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf raised concerns over its contents, ABC News says, the bulletin was never sent to federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Schiff said he found the decision to withhold the bulletin "alarming," adding that the U.S. needs its intelligence agencies "to speak truth to power, and if information is going to be withheld like this, it means they're not doing their job." Schiff said the House Intelligence Committee will investigate the matter to determine if DHS is "being interfered with politically."
ABC News obtained a copy of the report, titled "Russia Likely to Denigrate Health of U.S. Candidates to Influence 2020 Election," and it stated that analysts had "high confidence" Russia would try to get people to believe Biden is in poor health. The bulletin also included Chinese and Iranian plans to amplify concerns about President Trump's mental health.
A Homeland Security spokesperson told ABC News the draft bulletin "lacked the necessary context and evidence for broader dissemination," and that's why it didn't go outside of the intelligence office. Wolf told Fox News the report was "very poorly written," and claimed officials in the office "also had questions about it. They're hard at work on rewriting that report, putting it in better context. I hope to see that record out soon."
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