Overview

• On July 1–2, Director Kash Patel declassified the Albany Field Office’s suppressed Intelligence Information Report and related internal emails to Senator Grassley, who then released them publicly.
• The released files reveal that FBI headquarters ordered the recall and destruction of the September 2020 report alleging the Chinese government produced tens of thousands of fake driver’s licenses for fraudulent mail-in ballots.
• A cover letter from Assistant Director Marshall Yates cites concerns that the intelligence would contradict then-Director Christopher Wray’s September 2020 congressional testimony as a key reason for suppression.
• Internal emails show Albany field analysts warned that withholding the IIR for political reasons undermined the bureau’s apolitical mission and blocked other agencies from pursuing leads tied to nearly 20,000 fake IDs seized by Customs and Border Protection.
• Senator Grassley is seeking further FBI documents and has signaled possible hearings to determine whether leadership politicized the bureau’s election intelligence processes.