Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) issued the following statement on his vote against the confirmation of John Ratcliffe as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), citing serious concerns.
“I voted no on John Ratcliffe’s nomination for Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, a critical nonpartisan role in our national security apparatus.
“Ratcliffe’s previous actions as Director of National Intelligence have demonstrated his willingness time and again to put politics above our country’s national security. Just hours before a presidential debate in 2020, Ratcliffe declassified and released unverified Russian intelligence concerning the 2020 election — while fully admitting it could be false or fabricated— in order to give President Trump a talking point to attack Joe Biden. This was a blatant abuse of his power and risked compromising sources and methods, all for a political talking point.
“Ratcliffe’s willingness to weaponize his critical national security post out of loyalty to the President is deeply concerning and is reason enough to reject him. Sadly, the American people can have little confidence that what it hears from Ratcliffe will not be adulterated by the President’s personal interests or latest dictate. We must hold leaders of the Intelligence Community to the highest standards of impartiality, integrity, and commitment to the truth, not lower the bar to the bare minimum. Ratcliffe does not meet the test.”
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