The CIA has released a declassified “lessons-learned” review concluding that the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, published on 6 January 2017, deviated from standard tradecraft and was unduly steered by senior Obama-era intelligence leaders. Commissioned by CIA Director John Ratcliffe in May and made public on 2 July 2025, the review found that then-CIA Director John Brennan, FBI Director James Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper were “excessively involved” in drafting the document, compressed the production timeline and excluded most intelligence agencies from the process. Analysts told reviewers they were “jammed” by holiday-week deadlines and saw draft language for the first time only days before publication. The report criticises Brennan’s insistence on attaching the unverified Steele dossier—over the objections of senior Russia experts—saying the move undermined the credibility of the ICA’s judgment that President Vladimir Putin "aspired" to help Donald Trump win. The National Intelligence Council was largely sidelined, and 13 of the 17 intelligence agencies were shut out of deliberations, a procedure the review calls “markedly unconventional.” The White House said the findings vindicate former President Trump’s long-standing claims that the Russia probe was politicised, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating that officials responsible “must be held accountable for the fraud they committed against the American people.” Republican lawmakers and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn separately urged congressional hearings and possible criminal inquiries. Brennan, Comey and Clapper have not publicly responded to the review.