Thread by @JohnWHuber

Hey @brhodes did you just unintentionally reveal that the Jan-17 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) that Russia wanted to help elect Trump was pre-judged months in advance and even before the election?

🚨

nymag.com/intelligencer/…

In October 2016, senior staff in the Obama White House are discussing what to do if Trump refused to accept the Nov election results as legitimate

According to interviews with @brhodes, this Oct 2016 plan:

"Would affirm...the conclusions reached by the U.S. intelligence community that Russian interference in the election SOUGHT TO FAVOR TRUMP"

(emphasis added)

Assuming that isn't sloppy writing by @Schwartzesque, that's a MAJOR problem

The U.S. Intelligence Community hadn't yet made any assessment that Russia sought to interfere to "favor Trump"

*That didn't happen until Jan-17*

So how could the Obama WH know that in Oct-16? 🤔

The first attribution of election interference to Russia was by DHS and the ODNI (James Clapper) on Oct 7 2016, but there was no mention of motive, nor Trump

dhs.gov/news/2016/10/0…

Obama even didn't order an ICA until Dec 9 2016

That's AFTER the election

How can the results of that ICA be known to the Obama WH in Oct 2016? 🤔

cnn.com/2016/12/09/pol…

Even when the ICA was published on Jan 6 2017, the entire Intelligence Community didn't agree that the interference was specifically to "favor Trump"

NSA only gave this assessment "moderate confidence" ("high confidence" from FBI but led by PETER STRZOK)

dni.gov/files/document…

So is this sloppy writing, or did the Obama WH already have a "plan" in *Oct-16* to publicize that Russia "sought to favor Trump"?

A plan it then executed with the ICA which - surprise! - came up with EXACTLY that conclusion?

/ENDS