The new Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, said in an interview that he has already filed multiple “crimes reports” over the leaking of classified government information to the press by intelligence community operatives, as reported by the Daily Caller.
In an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Ratcliffe, a former congressman from Texas who was appointed as DNI in late May, said that “when I become aware of intelligence community information that is disclosed unlawfully, I do what’s called a crimes report.” He further revealed that he has “done that now on a number of occasions, and so those investigations are moving forward.” The exact timing, however, would be up to the FBI to decide, according to Ratcliffe.
His actions stem from multiple leaks to the press by intelligence community insiders regarding alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, which was eventually confirmed to be a hoax. As a result, Ratcliffe is making multiple changes to the manners in which the intelligence community provides official briefings to the press and to Congress.
In the case of the latter, his most recent briefing to Congress led to multiple members of Congress going straight to the press and disclosing what he had told them, in violation of protocol. In response to his revisions following these leaks, Democrats claimed, without any evidence, that Ratcliffe was limiting the information they could see in order to help President Trump’s chances in the upcoming 2020 election.