Trump's acting intelligence chief declines to meet with Congress for election threats briefing

[Dennis Donovan]

Source: WaPo

By Seung Min Kim and Ellen Nakashima

March 10, 2020 at 12:37 p.m. EDT

Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell has declined to appear before Congress on Tuesday to speak about foreign election threats, citing apprehension about his preparedness to address sensitive subjects that tend to upset the president, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The top intelligence community official asked President Trump to be excused from the briefings because he anticipated pointed questions from Democrats about politically volatile subjects — such as intelligence assessments that Russia is once more interfering in American politics, two of the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.

Maura Beard, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), said in a statement that the agency never told Congress Grenell would participate in the briefing. She said so despite a list circulated to lawmakers on Monday showing that he was scheduled to appear.

“FBI and DHS are the lead in charge of securing our elections, and the [intelligence community] is participating in today’s briefings in support of that mission,” Beard’s statement said. “The IC is focused on detecting and countering foreign election-related threats.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/richard-grenell-trump-intelligence-election-security/2020/03/10/6504cc36-62d6-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html

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He's a coward and an idiot.

[dhill926]

1. goddamit...enough of this shit....

amazing how they can get by without doing their fucking jobs...

[ArizonaLib]

5. People are used to congress not doing their jobs but these are criminal acts

where contempt of the constitution should not need to be enforced by the supreme court on a case by f-ing case basis.

I entirely agree with you: ENOUGH!

If the Senate flips and the Democrats don't go full throttle, where would that leave us? I don't want to think about that.

[ancianita]

2. Sure he's a coward and idiot, but he's also following dicktater orders.

This isn't about henchmen anymore. Impeachment proved that.

We waste our energy being outraged by dicktater henchmen now, when Impeachment has already showed that refusal by the Executive Branch was established, however vulgarly, as "unitary executive" practice. Republicans will forever use it again if Americans let them.

Broadly, congressional oversight power needs immediate, actionable penalties, or oversight will never again show any constitutional power at all.

[napi21]

3. ust discussed on Andrea Mitchel's show. Won't meet because DT can't handle the truth! Damn

shame. I believe they should meet without HIM and when he gets pi^^ed off, TS. Let him yell into the mirror!

[ancianita]

4. Also, because he's "acting," which holds no real decisionmaking authority, but is a rubber stamp.

[ScratchCat]

6. Wait, wait, wait.. this can't be right

Grenell asked Trump if he could be excused and he told Trump the reason was he didn't want to make Trump mad? What?

[IcyPeas]

7. holy shit

i'll never understand why these assholes are so scared of this failed real estate dude. SMH

[MelissaB]

9. Same. Let me fire me by tweet.

[Amaryllis]

8. By all means, the criteria should be if it will upset POTUS. CAn't have an upset POTUS.

But maybe it's just use any excuse to avoid the truth getting out.

[poli-junkie]

10. The real question should be: "Why would Trump be mad???"

That's the big elephant in the room. Open the curtain -- Trump's a Russian operative. Plain and simple.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. The genius of democracy

is that votes are cast and counted where they are held, locally and in the states. If Don had control of that we'd be cooked.

[Marcuse]

12. This is why one should never accept a job beyond one's competence. I can imagine his nightmares.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. tRump is a snowflake. . . . . nt