individuals, [took] willful actions that … had the effect of politicizing intelligence, hindering objective analysis, or injecting bias into the intelligence process.” The Ombudsman’s assessment mentioned the reluctance of China analysts “to have their analysis brought forward because they tended to disagree with the Administration’s policies.” On the other hand, Russia analysts were frustrated because management was “slowing down or not wanting to take their analysis to customers, claiming that it was not well received.”[1] The assessment also has a section entitled “historical context.” It discusses the politicization of intelligence about Iraq in 2003, but it does not mention Crossfire Hurricane or the Carter Page FISA.[2] The assessment paraphrases former intelligence official Neil Wiley:
[I]ntelligence is the only great function of state that does not come to top decision makers with an agenda …. The purpose of intelligence is to provide objective, unbiased, and policy-neutral assessments. We are, perhaps, most important to decision makers when we bring to them the bad news …. This … sometimes demands moral courage to carry out. Other institutions are inherently political and are much less likely to bring bad news. If we lose that objectivity, or even are perceived to have lost it, we have endangered the entire reason for us to exist.[3]
5. Recently upgraded protections
a. Investigative activities
The Sensitive Investigations Memorandum, promulgated by the Attorney General in 2020, imposes additional approval requirements for politically sensitive activities. If the FBI takes “exploratory investigative steps relating to” a presidential candidate, a senior staff member, or an advisor, it must give prompt written notice to the appropriate Assistant Attorney General and U.S. Attorney. The Attorney General explained that “this includes any person who has been publicly announced by a campaign as a staffer or member of an official campaign advisory committee or group.” The same notice requirement applies if the FBI opens an assessment of such a person. If the FBI opens either a preliminary or full investigation of such a person, then
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