Why isn't President-elect Joe Biden getting any intelligence reports? Trump's refusal to concede a major hurdle
President-elect Joe Biden would reportedly not receive national security information until President Donald Trump concedes to him in the 2020 presidential election, according to the national intelligence director’s office. The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 states that the General Services Administration should first ascertain the winner of the presidential election before providing intelligence briefing to the next administration. However, since Trump is contesting the results of the 2020 election, the Biden administration may face hurdles in the initiation process of the transition.
Intelligence agencies have routinely provided general intelligence briefings to presidential nominees since 1952. Former Vice President Biden began receiving the briefings shortly after he was declared the presidential nominee of the Democratic party. The briefings, however, do not include information about covert operation, sources and methods. It is not yet clear if the President-elect has continued to receive the briefings after the election results.
In certain instances, some of the presidents have permitted their successors to receive the President's Daily Brief, which contains the most sensitive intelligence information of the country. President Trump would reportedly have to authorize Biden to receive the particular brief. However, considering the Republican's refusal to concede the election, it would be difficult. Reports state that Biden transition staffers are also facing difficulties in communicating with their counterparts in multiple government agencies. The General Services Administration needs to present a formal resignation in an effort to allow Biden's transition staff access to federal workers and the required information. In the past, the government's General Services Administration issued a routine authorization letter a day or so after an election. This helped the presidential transition team to start preparing for Inauguration Day on January 20. But without this letter, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the president's security briefings, says it is not permitted to meet with Biden's transition team. ODNI said in a statement that it "would not have contact with any transition team until notified by the GSA."
The information from the national intelligence director’s office came as Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday, November 10, to state that the results of the elections were coming "next week." He tweeted: "WE WILL WIN!" the Republican president tweeted, adding: "WE ARE MAKING BIG PROGRESS. RESULTS START TO COME IN NEXT WEEK. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump's tweet referred to him disputing a lost election and the multiple lawsuits he has filed against states, challenging their vote counting process and calling some fraudulent.
Meanwhile, House Democrats, in a recent move, suggested that they were set to launch a series of investigations against the Trump administration once Biden's presidency begins. Chairs of 21 leading House committees, in a letter sent to over 50 agencies, warned that all documents and texts, even the ones sent from their private phones, should be preserved.
The 173-page letter, sent on Tuesday, November 10, stated: "This preservation request should be construed as an instruction to preserve all documents, communications and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that is or may be potentially responsive to a congressional inquiry, request, investigation or subpoena that was initiated, continued or otherwise undertaken during the 116th Congress." The letter also included an imprisonment threat, warning employees to not conceal any documents. “Any employee who conceals, destroys, or attempts to conceal or destroy a federal record may be subject to fine and imprisonment for up to three years," the letter told the agencies. The White House, as general rule, preserves documents of all administrations in a presidential library.