Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden received his first classified intelligence briefing on Wednesday in Wilmington, a source familiar with the briefing confirmed to CBS News.
The briefing, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), was separate from the ongoing election security briefings provided by Bill Evanina, the director of the United States National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
“The ODNI provides intelligence briefings to the candidates for president and vice president, consistent with established practice since 1952,” an agency spokesperson told CBS News in a statement.
These routine briefings cover broader intelligence threats and global “hotspots” so that candidates, if they are elected, can immediately begin addressing these issues once in office. The briefings are led by senior intelligence officers from ODNI and other agencies that may be the lead on a given issue.
The briefings are apolitical and non-partisan, and part of the overall effort to ensure peaceful transfers of power.
The briefing comes just a month and a half ahead of the November election.