Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, recently announced that his select committee will launch an investigation into the U.S. intelligence community. This inquiry is based on accusations that the intelligence community hindered a Senate investigation in 2020 by wrongfully claiming that two U.S. Senators were promoting Russian disinformation.
Jordan, who leads the House weaponization select committee, addressed a letter to the National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, detailing the investigation’s focus. The committee is scrutinizing claims that the intelligence community obstructed a congressional probe in 2020 by falsely suggesting the involvement of Russian disinformation in the work of Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
The 2020 inquiry, initiated by Senators Grassley and Johnson, was reportedly disrupted by a briefing conducted on August 6. This briefing was led by Nikki Floris, the FBI’s Deputy Assistant Director for Counterintelligence at the time, and Bradley Benavides, then the Section Chief of the Foreign Influence Task Force. Grassley and Johnson have alleged that this briefing interfered with their investigation into the Biden family’s business engagements.
According to the letter from Jordan’s committee, the FBI claims that the briefing was centered on Russia. However, the information provided to the Senators by Floris and Benavides was largely either already known to them or unrelated to their investigation into Hunter Biden’s financial ties to foreign governments and nationals. The letter further stated that the public disclosure of this briefing impeded the Senators’ probe into Hunter Biden’s international financial connections.
Jordan has set a deadline of November 15 for the requested information to be shared with his committee. Additionally, he has called for a transcribed interview with the official who initially served as the Intelligence Community Election Threats Executive at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Jordan highlighted that the committee’s oversight work has uncovered this individual’s direct involvement in developing ODNI’s Notification Framework. He believes this person possesses crucial insights regarding the intelligence and methodologies used to rationalize the defensive briefing held on August 6.
Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson released an interim report on Hunter Biden in September 2020. This report outlined their discoveries, including documents from the U.S. Treasury Department. These documents indicated possible illegal activities linked to financial transactions involving Hunter Biden, his family, and associates with entities from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China.
