Newly declassified memoranda reveal that in February 2016, Vice President Joe Biden’s staff intervened to prevent the Central Intelligence Agency from sharing an intelligence report with policymakers. The report summarized how senior Ukrainian officials perceived his son’s business dealings and his trip to Kyiv in December 2015.
The request to block the report came from Biden’s national security adviser and was communicated within the intelligence community by his Presidential Daily Brief briefer. A senior CIA official described this intervention as “extremely rare and unusual,” as the report met the criteria for distribution to officials working on Ukraine policy.
The report compiled reactions from Ukrainian officials following Biden’s visit, where they privately discussed Hunter Biden’s business ties in Ukraine and viewed the family’s alleged connections to corruption as evidence of a double standard in the U.S. government. They were disappointed that Biden did not engage in substantive discussions during his visit.
The documents were declassified by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who stated that the report was in the public interest. The report sheds light on Biden’s role in Ukraine policy after the Maidan Revolution and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. His push to dismiss Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Burisma and its owner, has been scrutinized due to his son’s ties to the company.
The intervention by Biden’s office in blocking the report’s dissemination is seen as part of a broader issue of politicization within the intelligence community. The release of the documents aims to promote transparency and address concerns about external influence on intelligence distribution decisions.
Overall, the memos highlight the unusual nature of Biden’s office influencing an intelligence report’s distribution, particularly when it captured important insights from Ukrainian officials about sensitive political and business connections.