Top Democrats are accusing U.S. intelligence officials of playing politics after earlier reports that Russia was trying to interfere in the 2020 elections were suddenly downplayed in a key meeting with Congress, The New York Times reports. On Tuesday, top intelligence officials said in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers that Russia did not appear to be directly supporting any presidential candidates in its attempts to interfere in the elections, using terms the Times called “carefully worded.” Earlier reports suggested that Russia was working to get Bernie Sanders the Democratic nomination. “The I.C. has not concluded that the Kremlin is directly aiding any candidate’s re-election or any other candidates’ election,” an unclassified summary stated. “Nor have we concluded that the Russians will definitely choose to try to do so in 2020.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the notion, saying the new information differed greatly from a classified hearing last month that implied otherwise, angering Republicans. The Times reported that a newly installed Trump appointee to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Kash Patel, imposed new limits on what the intel officials were permitted to tell Congress about foreign influence operations, which set off the Democrats’ objections.
