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Angus King: Ending election security briefings 'looks like a pre-cover-up'


Sen. Angus King Angus KingUSDA commits to trade aid for lobster industry using coronavirus coffers Filibuster fight looms if Democrats retake Senate US trade deal with EU a boon for lobster industry struggling under China tariffs MORE (I-Maine) on Monday blasted Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe John Lee RatcliffeRatcliffe defends end of election security briefings, accuses lawmakers of leaks Wolf says DHS will still brief Congress on election security Rubio says congressional oversight of intelligence faces 'historic crisis' following DNI announcement MORE’s announcement that his office will no longer deliver in-person election security briefings to Congress, saying it “looks like a pre-cover-up.”

“I can’t get into the head of these people, but we have a president who never likes to hear the word ‘Russia,’ at least not in the context of the relationships or of Russia meddling in our elections,” King told CNN.

“I hate to say this but it looks like a pre-cover-up. It looks like they don’t want to share the information, they’re covering up information,” he added. “I don’t know what they have or don’t have, but it looks like they’re trying to keep this information from the public so when everybody goes to vote on Nov. 3, they won’t know the extent to which they’ve been attempted to be influenced by the Russians or some other country.”

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Sen. Angus King (I-ME) on intel director's decision to no longer brief Congress on election security: "I hate to say this, but it looks like a pre-cover-up ... it looks like they're trying to keep this information from the public." pic.twitter.com/hiFK7eYE5E — The Recount (@therecount) August 31, 2020

Ratcliffe, who made the announcement Saturday, has defended the decision, telling Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo Maria Sara BartiromoKennedy: Destruction in Louisiana from Hurricane Laura will 'take your breath away' Ratcliffe defends end of election security briefings, accuses lawmakers of leaks Navarro: Americans will choose 'tough guy' for president because world is dangerous place MORE it was necessary to prevent the leak of classified information.

“I reiterated to Congress, look, I'm going to keep you fully and currently informed, as required by the law,” Ratcliffe said Sunday. “But I also said, we're not going to do a repeat of what happened a month ago, when I did more than what was required, at the request of Congress, to brief not just the Oversight Committees, but every member of Congress.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi, Biden slam Scalise for doctored video that altered activist's words Shutdown politics set to collide with coronavirus aid O'Rourke endorses Kennedy for Senate: 'A champion for the values we're most proud of' MORE (D-Calif.) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff Adam Bennett SchiffPresident's supporters, opponents paint dueling portraits of 'Donald Trump's America' Ratcliffe defends end of election security briefings, accuses lawmakers of leaks Wolf says DHS will still brief Congress on election security MORE (D-Calif.) slammed the announcement in a joint statement Saturday.

“This intelligence belongs to the American people, not the agencies which are its custodian. And the American people have both the right and the need to know that another nation, Russia, is trying to help decide who their president should be,” they said.

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