The Trump administration on Saturday told Congress that the intelligence community would no longer provide in-person briefings to Congress on foreign election threats in the 2020 presidential election.
After Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe informed Congress of this decision, he was harshly criticized in a joint-statement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA).
"This is a shocking abdication of its lawful responsibility to keep the Congress currently informed, and a betrayal of the public’s right to know how foreign powers are trying to subvert our democracy. 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," the two said in their statement.
"This is shameful and – coming only weeks before the election – demonstrates that the Trump Administration is engaged in a politicized effort to withhold election-related information from Congress and the American people at the precise moment that greater transparency and accountability is required. This keeps both the American people and the Congress in the dark, when both are in need of the information," the wrote. “We expect the Administration and Intelligence Community to keep us fully and accurately informed, and resume the briefings. If they are unwilling to, we will consider the full range of tools available to the House to compel compliance.”
However, the two were criticized for tweeting and issuing statements instead of taking action. Here's some of what people were saying about House Democrats, who are scheduled to remain on vacation until after Labor Day:
