Major Controversies Surrounding John Ratcliffe: A Detailed Timeline

Public opinion and media debates around John Ratcliffe—discover key moments of controversy.

John Ratcliffe is an American politician and attorney. He served as the Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021 and represented Texas's 4th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2020. Since 2025, he is the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements Controversies & Scandals

July 2016: FBI Starts Investigation into Russian Interference

In July 2016, The House Republican intelligence committee's own memo about the Russia probe had said that it was information about George Papadopoulos that set off an investigation by the FBI.

2016: Ratcliffe Questions Mueller's Congressional Testimony

Days before he was announced as Trump's choice to be Director of National Intelligence, Ratcliffe drew headlines for his questioning of Robert Mueller during Mueller's congressional testimony regarding the 2016 election. Ratcliffe criticized Mueller for including instances of potential obstruction in his report when no crimes were charged.

2016: Ratcliffe Commented on Russian Interference

In 2016, Ratcliffe alleged that Russian interference may have helped Trump's rival candidate Hillary Clinton more than Trump, conflicting with intelligence agencies.

2016: Ratcliffe Criticizes Investigations into Russian Interference

In 2016, Ratcliffe staunchly supported Trump's criticism of the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Ratcliffe has stated that he has "seen no evidence" that Russian interference in the 2016 election helped get Trump elected.

2016: Ratcliffe Asserts Obama Administration Leaked Flynn-Kislyak Transcripts

Shortly before Trump announced he would be nominated as DNI, Ratcliffe asserted the Obama administration had committed a felony by leaking classified transcripts of 2016 phone calls between Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak to The Washington Post.

2016: Ratcliffe Declassifies 2016 Russian Disinformation

Thirty-five days before the November 2020 election, Ratcliffe declassified 2016 Russian disinformation that asserted Hillary Clinton had personally approved a scheme to associate Trump with Vladimir Putin. The Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee had previously rejected the allegation as baseless.

December 2017: Ratcliffe Supports Repeal of Net Neutrality

In December 2017, Ratcliffe signed a letter from Congress, along with 106 other members of Congress, to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, supporting Pai's plan to repeal net neutrality.

2017: Ratcliffe Supports Trump's Immigration Order

In 2017, Ratcliffe supported president Donald Trump's executive order to prohibit immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, stating, "I applaud president Trump's actions to ramp up the vetting of refugees attempting to enter our country."

June 2018: DOJ Inspector General Report Released

In June 2018, the DOJ inspector general report stated the FBI evidence for gross negligence charges against Hillary Clinton was lacking.

March 2019: Ratcliffe Tweeted about Lisa Page Testimony

In March 2019, Ratcliffe tweeted that Lisa Page confirmed that the Obama Justice Department ordered the FBI not to consider gross negligence charges against Hillary Clinton, but the DOJ report contradicted this claim.

May 2020: Ratcliffe Declassifies Flynn-Kislyak Transcripts

Three days after becoming DNI in May 2020, Ratcliffe declassified and released the full transcripts of 2016 phone calls between Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

December 2020: Ratcliffe Warns of Chinese Threat

In December 2020, Ratcliffe warned that China "intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically" and called the country "the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War Two".

March 2021: ODNI Releases Analysis on Russian Disinformation

In March 2021, two months after Ratcliffe's departure as DNI, the ODNI released an analysis indicating that proxies of Russian intelligence had promoted misleading narratives about the Bidens to US media and officials, including those close to former President Trump's administration.

2022: Ratcliffe Calls for Stripping China of Olympic Rights

In 2022, Ratcliffe called for China to be stripped of the rights to hold the Winter Olympics because of what he said were "crimes of humanity against Uyghur Muslims".

2025: Ratcliffe Participates in Leaked Signal Group Chat

From March 11 to 15, 2025, Ratcliffe was part of a group chat on Signal about military operations against the Houthis in Yemen, which was leaked due to an error by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. During the chat, the name of an active undercover CIA officer was mentioned by Ratcliffe.