Thread by @jimsciutto

In two days, we had two alarming intel reports about two severe threats to the US: foreign election interference and domestic terrorism. Neither is new but both share a new, growing component: the aiding and abetting by Americans in positions of power. 1/

2/ The most alarming aspect of ODNI’s assessment of 2020 election interference was not that Russia interfered again and, again, to help Trump and hurt his Democratic opponent. Senior intel officials always tell me that Russia is predictably consistent.

3/ What’s most concerning is that Russia had help. ODNI report states: “A key element of Moscow’s strategy this election cycle was its use of proxies linked to Russian intelligence to push influence narratives - incl misleading or unsubstantiated allegations against Pres Biden..”

4/“...to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration.”

5/ ODNI does not ID those in Trump’s inner circle who helped spread disinformation but it does name one of their Russian partners - the known Russian intel agent Andriy Derkach - who Rudy Giuliani met with, obtained “dirt” on Biden from, and then spread the claimed dirt broadly

6/ Congress had a chance to help prevent this. Remember: language in the 2020 intelligence bill would have required presidential campaigns to report offers of foreign election help but Senate Republicans stripped it out.

7/ Evidence of Americans in power helping fuel domestic terrorism is equally alarming. ODNI states: “...narratives of fraud in the recent general election” & “the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the US Capitol” will “almost certainly” spur domestic extremists

8/ Trump’s debunked attacks on the election are well known but continuing to a receptive base. And even with him out of power, current lawmakers continue to spread the “big lie”. Many new voting restriction bills cite it specifically as justification for those new restrictions.

9/ Other votes - again by current lawmakers, contain a similar message, as when 2/3 of House GOP voted to reject electoral votes *after* the insurrection, and now 12 Republicans refused to award medals to USCP officers, one saying use of the word “insurrection” went too far.

10/ Anyone who doesn’t buy the seriousness of the threat from within should watch this video of one of many violent attacks on USCP officers Jan 6, just released by the FBI today: