The directive appears to apply to all intelligence agencies that report to Mr. Ratcliffe, though not necessarily other entities in the Justice Department, Defense Department and Homeland Security Department that are responsible for election security and that also regularly apprise Congress of their work. Ms. Pierson was appointed to the post last year, but when she briefed House lawmakers that the Russian government preferred that Mr. Trump was re-elected, it prompted widespread anger among Republicans. “He got tired of it so he wants to do it in a different form, because you have leakers on the committee,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Ratcliffe. Mr. Schiff accused the president of lying in a post on Twitter on Saturday. The decision by Mr. Ratcliffe, who once received similar briefings as a Republican congressman on the House Intelligence Committee, fanned accusations by Democrats that he had politicized the intelligence community since becoming its director this year.

Source: New York Times August 29, 2020 22:41 UTC