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Confirming much of what's in this @NYTimes scoop, a US Gov official tells me "it's like pulling teeth to get the White House to focus the attention needed on” Russian election interference 1/
nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/…
2/ The official says attempted Russian interference in US public affairs has continued and DHS officials and sr leaders "spent months and months trying to sound the alarm at the White House about the need to take foreign interference more seriously and to elevate the issue."
3/ In addition, the official says the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats shared those views and felt that the Administration “was not being forward-leaning enough in notifying Congress and the American people.”
4/ Other than 1 or 2 principals' meetings before the midterm elections, and one press conference where NSA Bolton, Nielsen, FBI director Wray, and NSA Dir Nakasone warned the public of election interference,...
5/... the USG official says "in general, senior White House staff felt it wasn't a good idea to bring up issues related to Russia in front of the president." ...
6/ The USG official said DHS and other agencies made repeated requests to set up more Cabinet-level meetings on the subject and Bolton’s National Security Council rebuffed the requests. "They [DHS] kept getting the Heisman from Bolton and company," the official says...
7/ The bigger concern, the official says, was post-midterms the need to sit down and figure out how to coordinate a better whole-of-govt response, "to get everyone out of their silos. But it was like pulling teeth to get the White House to focus the attention needed on this.”
