“The Committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes,” Rep. Devin Nunes said. | AP Photo Nunes: Intel officials denied Russia briefing for lawmakers

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes said Wednesday that top intelligence directors declined the panel’s request to brief lawmakers on what he's called “conflicting assessments” of Russia’s apparent interference in the U.S. election.

The California Republican said in a letter Monday to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that he was "dismayed that we did not learn earlier, from you directly, about … the CIA's reported revision of information previously conveyed to this committee." He said the CIA’s recent findings conflicted with briefings the panel received earlier in the year and asked for a briefing as soon as possible.


Top intelligence officials, however, rejected the panel’s request to come in Thursday, according to Nunes.

“It is unacceptable that the Intelligence Community directors would not fulfill the House Intelligence Committee’s request to be briefed tomorrow on the cyber-attacks that occurred during the presidential campaign,” Nunes said in a statement released Wednesday night. “The legislative branch is constitutionally vested with oversight responsibility of executive branch agencies, which are obligated to comply with our requests.”

Nunes said his panel had been “vigorously looking into reports of cyber-attacks during the election campaign.” He said they wanted to “clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us."

Intelligence officials’ refusal to brief the panel, he continued, allows for speculation and for their findings to be distorted. President-elect Donald Trump, for example, has suggested the CIA’s findings are false and a ploy by Democrats to undercut his Election Day victory.

“The Committee is deeply concerned that intransigence in sharing intelligence with Congress can enable the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes,” Nunes said. “The Committee will continue its efforts and will insist that we receive all the necessary cooperation from the relevant leaders of the Intelligence Community.”

A White House official did not immediately respond to a request for comment. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has said recently that members of Congress and staff have been briefed on the matter by senior administration officials before and since the election, in both classified and unclassified settings.

Top panel Democrat Adam Schiff on Wednesday declined to comment when asked about the possibility of a briefing Thursday. But he said he hopes the panel will do public hearings next Congress.

"We ought to. This was a serious attack on our democracy," the California Democrat said. "And both to inoculate the public against further Russian meddling. The public really needs to know what the Russians were up to, but its also a way of deterring the Russians if they know they'll be exposed in a very public way.

The office of the Director of National Intelligence, in a statement, pushed back on Nunes' assertions: "Senior Administration Officials have regularly provided extensive, detailed classified and unclassified briefings to members and staff from both parties on Capitol Hill since this past summer and have continued to do so after Election Day."

The statement continued: "Last week, the President ordered a full Intelligence Community review of foreign efforts to influence recent Presidential elections – from 2008 to present. Once the review is complete in the coming weeks, the Intelligence Community stands ready to brief Congress—and will make those findings available to the public consistent with protecting intelligence sources and methods. We will not offer any comment until the review is complete."

Darren Samuelsohn contributed to this report.