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A newly declassified internal review conducted by the CIA has dramatically challenged the U.S. intelligence community’s long-held narrative regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Ordered by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, the report exposes significant tradecraft failures, political bias, and questionable decision-making by top intelligence officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey.
The comprehensive review, dated June 26 and released publicly on Wednesday, scrutinizes the December 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), which concluded that Russia sought to meddle in the election with the clear intent of assisting then-candidate Donald Trump’s victory. The findings reveal that the process leading to this assessment was deeply flawed and tainted by political motivations.
In announcing the release of the report, Director Ratcliffe stated that President Trump had charged him with ending what he termed the “weaponization of U.S. intelligence.” Ratcliffe characterized the 2016 assessment process as “atypical and corrupt,” highlighting that key leaders within the intelligence community prioritized narrative consistency over factual and analytical rigor.
Central to the controversy is the role of the Steele dossier—an opposition research document compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and funded by political adversaries of Trump. The dossier’s allegations were repeatedly challenged within the CIA, with multiple senior officials and the heads of the CIA’s Russia-focused mission center opposing its inclusion in the official assessment.
Despite internal resistance, Brennan overruled these objections and ensured the dossier was incorporated as a two-page annex to the ICA and referenced within the main report. The CIA’s review condemns this choice, stating Brennan’s preference for “narrative consistency over analytical soundness” effectively elevated unverified claims to the level of credible intelligence. This decision, the report warns, severely undermined the integrity and credibility of the intelligence community’s key judgment on Russian interference.
The FBI, under Comey and then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, also played a critical role in pushing for the dossier’s inclusion. The review indicates FBI leadership made it clear that their participation in the ICA was contingent on incorporating Steele’s material, aggressively lobbying to embed references throughout the report’s main body.
This revelation casts new light on the internal dynamics and political pressures shaping the intelligence community’s controversial conclusions, raising serious questions about the credibility and impartiality of the agencies involved. The declassified CIA review marks a significant turning point in how the 2016 election interference narrative will be viewed in the future.
https://twitter.com/CIA/status/1940424692252500008
