Trump Gives Biden Access to Daily Intelligence Briefings
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden will begin to get the nation’s most classified intelligence after the White House signed off Tuesday on providing him the Presidential Daily Briefing as the transition moves forward.
The incoming president getting access to the top-secret briefing is the most high-profile part of the transition and seen as key to the orderly transfer of presidential responsibilities to a new leader.
All government agencies are now participating in briefings a day after President Donald Trump’s administration formally acknowledged Biden likely won — even as the president himself has not yet conceded, a transition official said on condition of anonymity.
An intelligence official said the Biden team would meet with current intelligence officials Monday to review further details of the transition.
Biden had been receiving intelligence briefings as a presidential candidate, as part of a longstanding tradition to ease the transition of power. But Trump’s refusal to concede the presidential race complicated Biden’s ability to receive the more sensitive presidential briefing before the General Services Administration formally acknowledged Biden as the winner Monday.
Trump’s decision to allow Biden to get the top-secret information came on the same day the president-elect formally announced key members of his national security team. They include Avril Haines, a former top CIA official who Biden will nominate to serve as the director of national intelligence.
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