DHS watchdog says Trump’s agency appears to have altered report on Russian interference in 2020 election partly due to politics

The April 26 Homeland Safety inspector general's evaluation offers a damning have a look at the way DHS' Workplace of Intelligence and Analysis handled intelligence related to Russia's efforts to intervene within the US, stating the division had deviated from its customary procedures in modifying assessments associated to Moscow's concentrating on of the 2020 presidential election.

The conclusion that Trump's appointee appeared to have tried to downplay Russian meddling in a key intelligence report is the latest example of how his aides managed his aversion to any details about how Russia is perhaps serving to his election prospects. In accordance with special counsel Robert Mueller's report, Trump officials tried to keep away from the subject during meetings and at hearings, because he would become enraged and upset when Russian meddling came up.

The US intelligence community introduced during the 2020 marketing campaign that Russia was actively meddling within the election to weaken then-candidate Joe Biden. At the time, Trump downplayed these findings and promoted false claims about Biden that aligned with Russia's disinformation efforts. The IG report addresses past suspicions that Trump appointees distorted some intelligence experiences to foster a more Trump-friendly narrative.

"We decided that the Appearing Secretary's involvement led to the uncommon occurrence of I&A ceasing dissemination of a product after it had already been authorized by the mission supervisor and circulated via advanced notification," the report states.

"The delays and deviation from I&A's standard course of and necessities put I&A vulnerable to creating a perception of politicization. This conclusion is supported by I&A's personal tradecraft assessment, which determined that the product may be viewed as politicized," it continues.

The whistleblower claimed that Wolf had instructed DHS officers to "stop offering intelligence assessments on the specter of Russian interference" and, as a substitute, focus their efforts on gathering data related to actions being carried out by China and Iran.

The scope of the DHS IG report was restricted to the single intelligence report in query.

Initially, the IG found, the DHS Intelligence and Evaluation Office had followed internal drafting and modifying processes. The report was two pages in length and related to one "'present Democratic presidential candidate'" and to Russian actions to affect the presidential election. It advanced over time after receiving internal input, in line with the IG report.

The IG additionally adopted up on a July 2020 meeting talked about by the whistleblower, who claimed Wolf had requested for the product to be held as a result of "'it made the President look unhealthy.'"

In accordance with notes of the meeting obtained by the IG, one high official wrote: "AS1 -- will hurt POTUS -- kill it per his authorities." The official informed the IG the notes meant the performing secretary had told him to carry the product because it could harm Trump and the authorities cited were in reference to these possessed by the secretary.

The IG's office interviewed Wolf, who denied saying this and added that he had requested for the product to be improved.

"I attempted to put myself in the position of one in all our state and local partners who would be studying this and I couldn't see the place the product, as written on July 8, would have added any worth or given them any information they might use. ... The product was not properly written," the performing secretary instructed the IG's office, in response to the report.

The delays and disruptions, though, put the office at risk of creating the perception of politicization, the IG report states. The IG recommended working with the Office of the Secretary and I&A oversight entities to verify election-related stories are in keeping with policies and guidelines. I&A agreed with the recommendation.

CNN's Marshall Cohen contributed to this report.