Bangladesh, July 3 -- A newly released internal review by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has cast fresh light on the intelligence communitys controversial assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election to benefit Donald Trump – and the pivotal role of former CIA Director John Brennan in driving that narrative. The June 2025 review, commissioned by current CIA Director John Ratcliffe, concludes that Brennan overrode internal objections, marginalized key intelligence bodies, and created a politicized process that compromised the integrity of one of the nations most consequential intelligence assessments.

The December 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA), formally titled “Russias Influence ...