Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on 13 August declassified a December 22 2016 email exchange that shows then-DNI James Clapper instructing the CIA, NSA, FBI and ODNI to deliver a unified Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference under a compressed timetable. In his reply to NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers—who warned that his staff lacked sufficient time and access to underlying intelligence—Clapper wrote that agencies might have to “compromise on our normal modalities” because “more time is not negotiable,” adding that the report had to be a “team sport.” The emails, released alongside related records obtained by Fox News and other outlets, indicate that Rogers questioned whether analysts could “absolutely stand behind” the January 2017 assessment, which concluded that Moscow aimed to help Donald Trump. Clapper’s directive came after President Barack Obama asked for the report before leaving office. Gabbard said the documents show a deliberate decision by senior officials to bypass standard vetting procedures and called the 2017 assessment “politicized.” Separate memoranda declassified the same day detail how former FBI Director James Comey, through an intermediary, provided classified material to the New York Times in 2017. Investigators say the leaks helped drive public calls for the appointment of a special counsel to examine alleged Trump–Russia ties. Attorney General Pam Bondi has referred the newly released files to the Justice Department, which plans to present them to a grand jury examining whether senior Obama-era intelligence officials improperly handled classified information and misrepresented intelligence findings.