Operations & Intelligence Failures — 2026-03-18

2026 Threat Assessment Omits Election Security for First Time Since 2017

The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment excluded foreign election interference for the first time since 2017, with midterm elections approaching in November. Sen. Warner asked directly whether foreign threats exist; Gabbard offered general assurances without specifics. Sen. Ossoff accused the DNI of evasion to avoid contradicting the White House. Intelligence agencies have not responded to SSCI requests for election interference briefings.

Analysis
Prior INTSUM (March 17) reported the declassified NSA IG report found the agency broke surveillance rules on US person queries. The election security omission, combined with DNI involvement in the Fulton County raid, may indicate the IC's election security mission has been redirected toward domestic political objectives.