Analyst Who Refused to Sign Off on Assessments Had His Promotion Threatened

The Federalist reports an apparatchik of then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper threatened to withhold a promotion from a senior intelligence official unless he concurred in the fake Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

“You need to TRUST ME on this,” Clapper’s crony told the analyst, saying he ‘would need to demonstrate [his] ability to “outgrow”’ the refusal to sign off on assessments he did not concur with.

Isn’t that something the devil would say?

2/2 https://t.co/rOTkZRD6eU Why? Because DOD’s DIA trusted the senior intelligence official and if he agreed with assessment, DIA would have signed on with CIA & FBI. @FDRLST with @MZHemingway

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) July 30, 2025

Paul Sperry wrote on July 18, “BREAKING: Obama’s intel czar James Clapper had an intel analyst “immediately removed” for questioning the 2016 ICA’s conclusion Putin helped Trump win. Now a whistleblower, the ODNI analyst was “not allowed to see” evidence backing the conclusion which included the Steele dossier.”

The HSCPI Report notes explicitly that there was one piece of intelligence that Clapper had and only allowed top CIA analysts to read. Other Agencies were “read in” but were not allowed to look at the intelligence themselves.

That intelligence is what Clapper claimed supported the “aspired to” conclusion.

That would fit with the ONDI Analyst being told by his superior there was intelligence to support the conclusion but he couldn’t see it.