Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper directed intelligence officials preparing the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia collusion with the Trump campaign to "compromise" the "normal" steps to speed the delivery of the document despite protests from National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers that his people didn't have enough time to vet the intelligence.
The declassified memo, which current Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released, reveals not only a severe internal disagreement among intelligence pros about the report's conclusions but also a shocking attempt by Clapper to push a poorly vetted intelligence assessment through the system.
"The leading figures in the Russia hoax have spent years deceiving the American public by presenting their manufactured and politicized assessments as credible intelligence," Gabbard told Fox News Digital. "The email released today reinforces what we already exposed: the decision to compromise standards and violate protocols in the creation of the 2017 manufactured intelligence assessment was deliberate and came from the very top."
"Clapper’s own words confirm that complying with the order to manufacture intelligence was a ‘team sport,’" Gabbard claimed.
As someone who has covered the intelligence agencies for 20 years, this revelation goes far beyond any "cooked" intel on WMD before the invasion of Iraq. The disagreement among intelligence agencies at that time was a question of substance, not procedure. These procedures to develop quality intelligence are more than simple bureaucratic rules. The procedures to gather information, analyze data, assess "confidence," and develop a consensus on conclusions are vital to national security in that they allow policymakers to accurately assess threats, current and future.
By ignoring procedures and rushing the ICA product to its conclusion without the NSA fully signing off on its findings, Clapper committed a gross violation of his oath and started a chain reaction of false accusations against Donald Trump and his subordinates that eventually led to his impeachment.
Rogers, a veteran intelligence officer and former congressman, expressed "some concerns I have with what I am hearing from my folks" about the creation of the ICA.
Specifically, I asked my team if they’d had sufficient access to the underlying intelligence and sufficient time to review that intelligence," Rogers wrote in an email to Clapper.
"On both points my team raised concerns," Rogers wrote. "They were clear that, at the staff level, folks have been forward-leaning and trying to ensure that we have an opportunity to review and weigh in, but I’m concerned that, given the expedited nature of this activity, my folks aren’t fully comfortable saying that they have had enough time to review all of the intelligence to be absolutely confident in their assessments."
Rogers clarified, with the email stating he is "not saying that we disagree substantively, but I do want to make sure that, when we are asked in the future whether we can absolutely stand behind the paper, that we don’t have any reason to hesitate because of the process."
"I know that you agree that this is something we need to be 100% comfortable with before we present it to the President – we have one chance to get this right, and it is critical that we do so," Rogers allegedly wrote. "If the intent is to create an integrated product that is CIA/FBI/NSA jointly-authored that we can all defend, we need a process that allows us all to be comfortable, and I’m concerned we are not there yet."
The email continued: "In addition, if NSA is intended to be a co-author of this product, I personally expect to see even the most sensitive evidence related to the conclusion."
This took place in December 2016, with Barack Obama trying to engineer an effort to undermine his successor before he took the oath. Clapper and FBI Director James Comey were willing participants in the conspiracy.
The grand jury that Attorney General Pam Bondi called will determine what, if any, laws were broken in carrying out this scheme. Certainly, lying to Congress will be at the top of the list. There's also a chance that the grand jury will find criminality in the conspiracy.
The trouble that ICA has caused the people and politics of the United States cannot be undone. Whether it will result in indictments is another matter.
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