Then-CIA Director John Brennan reportedly complained last December the members of Congress briefed about Russia’s interference in the U.S. election did not “understand and appreciate the importance and gravity of the issue.”
BuzzFeed News, which said it obtained the Dec. 16, 2016, memo as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the CIA and other intelligence agencies, reported Brennan did not disclose the lawmakers who were skeptical about the CIA’s assessment — but cited three unidentified sources saying the rebuke was directed at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“In recent days, I have had several conversations with members of Congress, providing an update on the status of the review as well as the considerations that need to be taken into account as we proceed,” he wrote in the memo.
“Many — but unfortunately not all — members understand and appreciate the importance
