A review of the Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 elections found serious problems with the process but not its basic findings—depending on which news outfits’ treatment you read.

NSC VACUUM  A report found chaos reigns at Marco Rubio’s slimmed-down National Security Council. Important meetings aren’t held, career staffers are often in the dark about what’s expected of them, and some people or their institutions try to take advantage of power vacuums. (Politico)

SLIMMING THE ODNI: Sen. Tom Cotton, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, has introduced a bill to overhaul the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.  The Intelligence Community Efficiency and Effectiveness Act would cap the full-time staff at the ODNI at 650—down from roughly 1,600—by eliminating positions and reallocating resources to other agencies.

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