NSA Deputy Blocked Election-Interference Report Over Deep-State Fears, Memo Shows
A declassified 2020 memo reveals the NSA’s deputy director halted a delayed foreign-targeting report because he feared it would label the agency as part of the “deep state.”
A recently declassified memorandum from March 13, 2020, records an NSA analyst’s account of a meeting where the agency’s deputy director refused to issue a long-delayed intelligence product on foreign election targeting. The analyst noted that the report, completed on schedule but delayed for 16 months, examined interference dating back to 2014 and contained references to the 2016 election. The deputy director feared that releasing the assessment during a period when President Donald Trump was publicly attacking the intelligence community would cast the NSA as a “deep-state” actor, harming its credibility and staff morale.
He suggested a watered-down summary or limited distribution instead. Higher-level officials, including the ODNI, had also stalled decisions, and the Gates Procedures required pre-approval because the document could indirectly identify members of Congress. The memo was disclosed by the White House Government Transparency Task Force and had been cited in an ombudsman’s 2021 report on politicization of intelligence.
Why it matters
It shows how political pressure can shape the timing and content of intelligence reporting on election security.
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