President Donald Trump’s administration has begun sharing classified intelligence briefings with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, the Daily Caller has learned.
CBS News first reported Trump’s order Tuesday, and a White House official confirmed the move to the Daily Caller. The order comes roughly a day after Trump first directed the General Services Administration (GSA) to “do what you need to do” with regard to Biden’s transition. He has implied in tweets that the orders are not a concession, however.
.@realDonaldTrump has authorized the sharing of intelligence reports with the President-elect @JoeBiden 3 sources tell @CBSNews
— Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) November 24, 2020
Biden is already more than a week into the transition process and said in the days after Election Day that Trump’s hesitance to share intelligence briefings and other niceties was not of much consequence.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has also reportedly instructed White House staff to “not go out of their way” to assist the Biden transition.
Biden introduced his first cabinet nominations during a 45-minute presentation Tuesday. He’s tapped longtime adviser Tony Blinken to be secretary of state, Alejandro Mayorkas as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser.
Biden has also selected former Sen. and Secretary of State John Kerry to lead his administration’s international efforts on climate change. (RELATED: GOP Reportedly Plans To Block Certain Biden Cabinet Picks, Dems May Offer ‘Sacrificial Lamb’)
Trump and his campaign are still engaged in legal challenges attempting to overturn the result of the election in several states, but the effort has yet to be successful and remaining lawsuits are dwindling.
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani laid out the administration’s case for alleged voter fraud in a presentation last week. Giuliani presented no solid evidence of fraud but offered a number of affidavits from election workers who allege they witnessed fraud. Giuliani said there are “hundreds” of these witnesses but they are afraid to come forward.