Chuck Schumer couldn’t speak directly about the classified briefing he received, but he was able to suggest that DNI Ratcliffe was lying about Iran’s motivations.
Senate Democratic Leader Schumer told Rachel Maddow, “Well, I’m not saying what he told me in the briefing. I can tell you that from the briefing, I had the strong impression it was much rather to undermine confidence in elections and not aimed at any particular figure but rather to undermine the very wellspring of our democracy, elections. That was my strong impression at the meeting. I did not get the impression it was aimed at any political figure. And I’m surprised that DNI Ratcliffe said that at this press conference if he did. ”
Video:
Sen. Chuck Schumer suggests that the Trump administration is lying about the Iran attack being designed to undermine Trump. pic.twitter.com/p4FlMGy1en
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) October 22, 2020
Schumer’s account is backed up by reporting in The Wall Street Journal, “Mr. Ratcliffe said the spoofed emails from Iran were intended to damage Mr. Trump. Two officials familiar with the matter said the operation—which targeted Democratic voters—appeared chiefly focused on undermining public confidence in the election. A third official said that intelligence about the operation reflected both a desire to harm Mr. Trump and degrade election integrity, but the official declined to discuss specifics.”
Ratcliffe is a former House Republican who has no experience in the intelligence community. He is the same official who released Russian propaganda before the first presidential debate.
The Hunter Biden email scandal has flopped, so Trump is using his political operatives inside the federal government to try and create a game-changing narrative shifting story that will change the subject and help his reelection campaign.
Trump is going to use Ratcliffe’s false statement in the debate on Thursday night to claim that Iran wants Biden to win.
It is the same playbook as 2016, as Trump is flailing in every direction trying to find something that will take the attention off of him and his failed presidency.
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Mr. Easley is the founder/managing editor, who is White House Press Pool, and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association