US President-elect, Joe Biden warned that many of America’s security agencies had been “hollowed out” under President Donald Trump, and that the lack of information being provided to his transition team was an “irresponsibility.”
The Democrat said those working on the transition ahead of his inauguration next month were still not getting the defence and national security details they needed – more than a month after his election win was declared.
“We encountered obstruction from the political leadership of that department [the Pentagon],” he said, adding, “And the truth is many of the agencies that are critical to our security have incurred enormous damage.
“Many of them have been hollowed out – in personnel, capacity and in morale.”
Intelligence briefings for presidential candidates and incoming administration officials in the US are done at the courtesy of the sitting president, but Mr Trump continues to contest Mr Biden’s victory on Twitter.
Despite Mr Trump’s claims, Mr Biden has been formally elected by the members of the US Electoral College and is set to be inaugurated on 20th January.
The President’s administration only authorised cooperation with the Biden transition team on 23rd November.
While speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, President-elect Biden said his team has faced “obstruction” from the political leadership at the Defence Department and the Office of Management and Budget as they’ve sought to gather necessary information to continue the transition of power.
He warned that his team needs “full visibility” into the budget process at the Defence Department “in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.”
The President-elect added that they need a “clear picture of our force posture around the world and of our operations to deter our enemies.”
Mr Biden’s comments came after he was briefed by members of his national security and defence teams and advisers. He said his team found that agencies “critical to our security have incurred enormous damage” during President Trump’s time in office.
Earlier this month, the Biden team said Pentagon officials were resisting their requests for information.
The Pentagon previously disputed these claims, with a senior official stating that, it had conducted 163 interviews and responded to 181 requests for information for the incoming administration.
They added that the Department of Defence would continue to provide information and meetings, although Mr Biden’s latest comments suggest that this has not been happening to his team’s liking.
Speaking to the News podcast, Intelligence Matters, former CIA officer and intelligence briefer, David Preiss explained how the briefings were aimed at preventing candidates saying something “galactically stupid on the campaign trail” that could get in the way of their own foreign policy should they win.
He also revealed that he was “very worried” about the relationship between the intelligence community and the White House under another Trump administration, but added that he was hopeful the relationship could be re-established under Mr Biden.
“It appears that he was a respectful recipient of the intelligence information he had,” Mr Preiss said, adding “most of the signs are positive that Joe Biden understands the role of intelligence in a democratic society and understands how to use it effectively as a senior policymaker”.
“We don’t know what all of his priorities would be, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one of those priorities would be to, in a sense re-establish the groundwork, re-establish the foundation [of the relationship between the White House and the intelligence community],” he added.
