Did Rob Reiner meet with CIA director James Clapper

1. A formal link: advisory board membership that ties Reiner and Clapper

Public reporting from the Committee’s launch in 2017 lists James Clapper among the advisory members and Rob Reiner as a founder and board figure; multiple outlets — Hollywood Reporter, CNN and Fox News — record Clapper’s name on that advisory list alongside Reiner ^{[1] [2] [4]}. InfluenceWatch’s profile of the Committee also catalogs Clapper among the former intelligence figures associated with the group, linking him to Reiner through that institutional vehicle ^[5].

2. Meetings in public forums: Reiner moderating conversations that included Clapper

Beyond the advisory-board listing, Reiner moderated or hosted public conversations that featured Clapper. One explicit example is the Feb. 7, 2018 event titled “Democracy Under Attack,” described in reporting as James Clapper and John Brennan sitting down “with Director/Actor/Activist Rob Reiner” for a candid discussion about Russia and the 2016 election — a clear on-the-record meeting between the men ^[3]. PBS’s “Firing Line” clip also records an on-air exchange referencing work “with James Clapper,” indicating professional interaction ^[6].

3. What “meeting” can mean here: advisory ties, public events, not private one‑on‑one

The sources show at least two types of contact: institutional — shared service on the Committee to Investigate Russia advisory board ^{[1] [2] [4]} — and public-facing — Reiner hosting or moderating discussions involving Clapper ^{[3] [6]}. Available sources do not mention a private, previously undocumented one-on-one meeting between Reiner and Clapper beyond these public and institutional engagements; they document public appearances and advisory association rather than secret or private encounters ^{[3] [1]}.

4. Why the distinction matters: influence, optics and the narrative

Serving on the same advisory board and sharing platforms creates both legitimate professional collaboration and political optics that critics exploit. Coverage at the Committee’s founding emphasized a bipartisan cast of advisers (including Clapper) to bolster credibility for Reiner’s effort to publicize alleged Russian interference ^{[2] [7]}. Critics and commentary pieces framed those ties differently: some outlets presented the advisory roster as evidence of serious expertise, while others used it to argue the group lacked independent Russia specialists or to question motivations and effectiveness ^{[5] [8]}.

5. Competing perspectives in the record

Supporters framed Reiner’s recruitment of figures like Clapper as lending the Committee expertise and gravitas ^{[1] [2]}. Skeptics argued the Committee’s advisory makeup and celebrity profile did not substitute for institutional investigation and suggested the effort risked partisanship or ineffectiveness ^{[5] [8]}. Both perspectives are present in the reporting; the sources document cooperation and shared platforms without resolving debates over the Committee’s impact ^{[1] [8]}.

6. Limitations of available reporting and what’s not found

The documents in this packet confirm public, on-the-record interactions — advisory board membership and a moderated public conversation — but do not provide evidence of private one-on-one meetings or other off-the-record encounters between Reiner and Clapper; such claims are not found in the current reporting ^{[3] [1]}. Any assertion beyond the documented advisory role and public events would exceed what these sources say.

7. Bottom line for readers

If your question is whether Rob Reiner ever met James Clapper in a professional, public or institutional context, the answer in the contemporary reporting is yes: they shared advisory membership on the Committee to Investigate Russia and appeared together in public conversations that Reiner moderated ^{[1] [3]}. If you are asking about private, undisclosed meetings, available sources do not mention that and do not provide evidence one way or the other ^{[3] [1]}.