The federal office that oversees U.S. intelligence agencies informed Congress that it would no longer provide in-person briefings about security threats to the 2020 presidential election, suggesting that it was worried about lawmakers leaking sensitive classified materials. One Democratic senator urged his colleagues to issue a subpoena to intelligence officials demanding they appear before the intelligence committee, and to hold them in contempt if they don’t comply. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will still provide updates in writing to the congressional intelligence committees, officials said. “We are committed to meeting our statutory responsibilities and keeping Congress fully and currently informed,” an ODNI official said Saturday in a statement. “For clarity and to protect sensitive intelligence from unauthorized disclosures, we will primarily do that through written finished intelligence products.” The official added that the office was “concerned about unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information following recent briefings,” but didn’t specify which disclosures or briefings.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 29, 2020 19:50 UTC