Wyden Calls for Immediate Declassification and Public Release of Intelligence Related to Russian Interference in U.S. Election

Washington, D.C. – In response to statements by the executive branch that it may be weeks before new information is released to the public about Russian interference in the U.S. election, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the American people cannot wait that long to get the facts.

“This is a national crisis that must be fully explained to the American people right now,” Wyden said. “When a foreign nation interferes in our election, delays and closed-door investigations are not good enough. We cannot continue to sweep this under the rug or to wait until just before inauguration day before leveling with the public.”

The Intelligence Community last declassified information about the Russian Government and the U.S. election on October 7, 2016. On November 30, 2016, Senator Wyden and other members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence urged the President to declassify and release to the public specific information concerning the Russian Government and the U.S. election.

“American democracy, and its independence from foreign interference, is at stake,” Wyden said. “History will not forgive those who kept the facts from the American people.”

Immediate declassification and public release is necessary for the following reasons: