A newly declassified CIA review finds the agency’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election suffered from political pressure.

Washington

A declassified CIA review, initiated by Director John Ratcliffe, has found that the agency's 2016 investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election was affected by political pressure and deviations from established analytic processes. The review noted that the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) suffered from politicization and the inclusion of unverified information, such as the Steele dossier, despite objections from senior analysts.

The report concluded that while the overall assessment was considered defensible, procedural anomalies and tradecraft issues highlighted the risks of handling politically sensitive topics under time pressure. The review emphasized the need for adherence to rigorous analytic standards to maintain credibility and objectivity in intelligence assessments.

CIA reveals Obama's Russia collusion hoax was corrupt from the start

The CIA's report investigating the 2016 election was corrupt from the start, according to a new review from the agency, tasked by Director John Ratcliffe. The 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment was carried out soon after President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, when then-President Barack Obama directed former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to review alleged Russian activity in the election. What followed was bad intelligence tradecraft and a politicization of the intel community. Ratcliffe wrote, Agency heads at the time created a politically charged environment that triggered an atypical analytic process around an issue essential to our democracy. Under my watch, I am committed to ensuring that our analysts have the ability to deliver unvarnished assessments that are free from political influence. Ratcliffe's tradecraft review was published yesterday, finding, The review of the 2016 ICA revealed how departures from established processes and tradecraft standards can affect even fundamentally sound analysis. While the overall assessment was deemed defensible, the identified procedural anomalies and tradecraft issues highlight critical lessons for handling controversial or politically charged topics. Adhering to established analytic procedures and rigorous tradecraft is essential to ensure credibility, objectivity, and accuracy, particularly when time pressures, sensitive information, and high-level attention create risks of compromising standard practices. Alex, I went through and read this report. I was surprised, and I thought I knew a lot about the Russia collusion investigation. You wrote about it in your book, Lawless Lawfare. What can you tell us based on what you saw in Ratcliffe's report? So from the report, what stood out to me is that it seemed every aspect of this was based on Christopher Steele's unverified dossier that was funded by political opposition that we know from the DNC, the Hillary campaign. And I do. I have a chapter on Russia in my book, Lawless Lawfare, available on Amazon for all, everybody that wants to go check it out. But one of the things that stuck out to me was what taxpayers had to pay for this. This whole chasing, basically, political opposition research. And it was $40 million for—or, I'm sorry, $32 million for Mueller, his probe. And then John Durham—remember him? He was basically the special counsel that investigated the special counsel, right, the origins of the actual probe. That was $7.6 million. So we're looking at a total, as I said, $40 million that taxpayers spent chasing, basically, this Russia collusion that never was. Well, the report was perhaps the most critical of the inclusion in that Steele dossier that you mentioned, and the dossier failed in its attempt to tie then-candidate Donald Trump to Russian government operatives, despite many issues with the dossier. It was included in this report, simply because John Brennan wanted it in there. The ICA authors and multiple senior CIA managers, including the two senior leaders of the CIA mission center responsible for Russia, strongly opposed including the dossier, asserting that it did not meet even the most basic tradecraft standards. CIA's deputy director for analysis warned in an email to Brennan on the 29th of December that including it in any form risked the credibility of the entire paper. Despite these objections, Brennan showed a preference for narrative consistency over analytical soundness. When confronted with specific flaws in the dossier by two mission center leaders, he appeared more swayed by the dossier's general conformity with existing theories than by legitimate tradecraft concerns. So, Jason, I have to ask, are Democrats finally going to admit that this was a flawed attempt on their part to tarnish the first term of Donald Trump? So, if you're talking about the Mueller program—and by the way, I can tell that you're a dad. You would be a great storyteller, you know, and reading a book—you know, I want to get your voice recorded so I can listen to it, but not in a bad way like Hakeem Jeffries, apparently.

U.S. President Donald Trump, hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, said the United States had scheduled talks with Iran and indicated progress on a controversial effort to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.

Middle East Conflict

Netanyahu meets Trump as Israel, Hamas discuss ceasefire

Search teams continue to look for survivors after catastrophic flash floods overwhelmed parts of the US state of Texas. About 100 people have been killed and dozens more are missing. Officials say the National Weather Service didn't provide enough warning of the heavy rain.

Texas

Rising Texas death toll fuels anger over 'inadequate warning'

Leaders of BRICS have warned of the dangers of tariffs - saying they don't want a confrontation with US President Donald Trump. The group of emerging nations made the comments at their summit in Brazil. They also discussed Gaza and tensions in the Middle East.

Rio de Janeiro

Global Tariffs

BRICS summit rejects U.S. tariff threats, tackles trade and Gaza

Video captured by a BBC News crew shows French police slashing a boat filled with migrants trying to cross into the U.K. The crackdown comes ahead of a summit this week between the French president and British prime minister.

London

French police slashing migrants’ boat in crackdown

President Donald Trump's Justice Department and FBI released a memo concluding that there is no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a "client list." The FBI confirmed that more than 1,000 victims were harmed by Epstein.

FBI: Epstein investigation turned up no 'incriminating client list'

The death toll from the devastating floods in Texas has risen to at least 90 as rescue workers continue to search for dozens of missing people. At least 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in central Texas died in the floods.

Kerrville

At least 90 people killed in Texas floods

A shooter is dead after opening fire at a U.S. Border Patrol building in McAllen, Texas, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. CBS News' Shanelle Kaul has the latest updates.

McAllen

Shooter killed after opening fire at U.S. Border Patrol building

Israel’s military launched airstrikes early on Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The strikes followed a suspected Houthi attack on a ship in the Red Sea.

Sana'a

Israel strikes Yemen ports held by Houthi rebels

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with U.S. President Trump at the White House on Monday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza and a potential ceasefire with Hamas.

Netanyahu set to meet Trump at White House amid ceasefire optimism

U.S. President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on global tariffs announced in April is nearing its expiration, and the White House warned that steeper tariffs could roll out at the beginning of August.

White House warns higher tariffs could roll out August 1

Erin Patterson, the Australian woman accused of killing three relatives with a meal of death cap mushrooms baked in a Beef Wellington lunch, has been found guilty of three counts of murder and the attempted murder of the lone survivor.

Morwell

Australian woman found guilty in ‘mushroom murder’ trial

Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp along the Guadalupe River, has confirmed that at least 27 campers and counselors died in the devastating floods that hit the Texas camp.

Hunt

Camp Mystic confirms 27 campers, counselors killed in floods

President Donald Trump called Elon Musk's plans to form a new political party "ridiculous," launching new barbs at the tech billionaire.

Trump criticizes Musk's new 'America Party' as feud grows

Rescuers are searching for more than 40 people still missing, after flooding in the US state of Texas. The death toll has risen to at least 82, including 28 children - many of them from a summer camp. President Donald Trump has declared the area a disaster zone.

Death toll from Texas floods rises to 82, dozens still missing

BRICS leaders set to discuss key global political issues, but questions over the bloc’s cohesion arose as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin opted to skip the summit.

State of Rio de Janeiro

BRICS group slams tariffs, Iran conflict at summit in Brazil

The search for missing children from a girls' summer camp hit by flash floods in Texas entered a third day on Sunday, as rescuers faced the threat of more flooding and the death toll in the region reached at least 67.

Texas officials face questions over flood warnings

Search and rescue missions continue in Kerr County, Texas, after severe storms caused deadly flooding that has killed dozens of people. More than 20 children from the nearby Camp Mystic are still missing, officials say.

Texas campground owner describes flash floods: "It was just chaos"

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he has formed a new political party after falling out with U.S. President Donald Trump over the "One Big Beautiful Bill."

Elon Musk launches 'American Party'

Israel has sent a delegation to Qatar for new indirect talks on a possible hostage and ceasefire deal despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the changes requested by Hamas to a previous proposal were "unacceptable."

Doha

Israel, Hamas delegations resume truce talks over Gaza in Doha

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received an enthusiastic welcome at a mosque in Tehran as he made his first public appearance since the start of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

Tehran

Iran's Supreme Leader makes first public appearance since war started

Search-and-rescue operations are expected to continue as the death toll continues to rise from Friday's flash flooding in central Texas, with authorities confirming at least 50 deaths so far, 15 of those children. Among the missing are girls from a Christian summer camp.

Death toll rises as search for Texas flood survivors continues

Rescuers are searching for survivors of a flash flood that hit central Texas on Friday, leaving at least 43 people dead, including 15 children. Authorities in Texas are now facing questions about whether they issued proper warnings in advance of rain-fuelled flooding.

Death toll from Texas flooding rises to 43

Experts link the rising frequency and intensity of heatwaves in Europe to climate change, warning that such extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common.

Athens

Firefighters across Europe battle wildfires

Rallies on the streets of Tel Aviv were held as the Israeli security cabinet reportedly gathered to discuss Hamas' response to a potential ceasefire-hostage deal.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Tel Aviv rally calls for the release of the remaining hostages

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday (July 5) that his latest conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump this week was the best and "most productive" he has had to date.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy says latest Trump call the 'most productive' yet

The unemployment rate for new college graduates has recently surged. Economists say businesses are now replacing entry-level jobs with artificial intelligence. Ali Bauman has the story.

Cambridge

Unemployment surges as employers replace new hires with AI

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is sending a delegation to Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible ceasefire deal. Hamas calls the latest response "positive." Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 14 in Gaza.

Renewed momentum for Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

The deadline is fast approaching for countries to make new tariff agreements with the U.S. or face a higher rate. The Trump administration is putting them on notice.

Trump turns attention to trade after major legislative win

The funeral proceedings of the late football players Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva took place in the church of Gondomar in their hometown in the east of Porto. Family members, teammates and coaches joined thousands of mourners to pay their final respects.

Gondomar

Thousands gather to bid farewell to Liverpool's Diogo Jota

McMahon's most recent projects included Netflix's whodunit "The Residence" and the Nicolas Cage drama "The Surfer," which premiered earlier in the year at SXSW.