~ On political retractions and revisions of CIA intelligence ~

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement after the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) retracted and revised 19 intelligence products based on a recommendation from political appointees on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB):

“The strength of the Intelligence Community has always depended on its ability to deliver objective, apolitical analysis, grounded in rigorous tradecraft and insulated from political pressure. That standard must be upheld, and analytic integrity should always be taken seriously, but those judgments must be made by intelligence professionals and not subject to politics.

“The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board plays an important advisory role, but it is not a substitute for the independent analytic judgment of the CIA and the broader Intelligence Community. When a politically appointed body appears to be dictating what analysis is acceptable, it risks eroding confidence in the objectivity of our intelligence.

“Moreover, today’s action does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern in this administration: sidelining career experts, undermining inconvenient intelligence assessments, and allowing political considerations to override professional judgment. When political appointees appear to dictate what analysis is valid, it threatens the credibility, reliability, and independence of the Intelligence Community itself.

“Congress has a duty to ensure that our intelligence remains independent, rigorous, and free from political interference. Protecting that independence should not be a partisan issue – it is a national security imperative. Our country depends on the Intelligence Community’s ability to provide honest, fearless analysis, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient for those in power.”