Revelations on 2016 Election Interference Claims

Documents that were previously classified indicate that some briefings reportedly withdrew key information that went against former President Donald Trump’s claims regarding Russian interference in the election.

In a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) during the 2016 election, it was stated that “foreign enemies did not use cyberattacks on election infrastructure.”

According to files released by ODNI, shortly after Trump’s victory, there were discrepancies between the intelligence community’s findings and media reports that suggested Russian interference.

After the 2016 election, the Intelligence Reports Community drafted a Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) on December 7 to assess the potential impact of cyber hacking on election outcomes. However, this briefing was reportedly “killed” by senior officials who cited “new guidance,” per ODNI.

Journalist Matt Taibbi pointed out that the pivotal moment in these revelations came when evidence was omitted that showed there was no significant foreign interference in the election.

Taibbi noted that Trump had the right to access the PDB as part of his role and would have encountered these findings, which asserted that “Russia and criminals had no effect” on the election.

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, mentioned that he was reading the PDB at that time and had indeed seen the relevant information. He suggested that the decision to halt the PDB was likely influenced by this context.

The ODNI’s findings stated there was “no evidence of cyber-operation in election infrastructure aimed at changing outcomes.”

Instead of the PDB, a meeting of the National Security Council’s Principal Committee took place on December 9, orchestrated to create an assessment as requested by the President.

The recent ODNI report revealed that “deep IC state authorities” began leaking claims to the media, alleging that Russia had influenced the election results. These allegations sparked a lengthy investigation, which ultimately concluded with special counsel Robert Mueller finding no evidence of conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia.