Tag: Director of National Intelligence

Maguire contradicts Trump: I think the whistleblower did the ‘right thing’

The Hill logoActing Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire contradicted President Trump on Thursday, telling Congress that he believes the whistleblower who raised concerns about Trump’s interactions with Ukrainian officials did the “right thing” in a “unique and unprecedented” case.

“I think the whistleblower did the right thing,” Maguire said to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during public testimony, adding that they followed the whistleblower statute every step of the way.

Maguire also expressed his support of the whistleblower, deeming the complaint “credible” and “important” while stating that he does not know the identity of the individual.

View the complete September 26 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence claims he arrested 300 illegal immigrants in a single day. He didn’t.

Washington Post logoPresident Trump’s choice to lead the nation’s intelligence community often cites a massive roundup of immigrant workers at poultry plants in 2008 as a highlight of his career. Rep. John Ratcliffe claims that as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Texas, he was the leader of the immigration crackdown, describing it as one of the largest cases of its kind.

“As a U.S. Attorney, I arrested over 300 illegal immigrants on a single day,” Rat­cliffe (R-Tex.) says on his congressional website.

But a closer look at the case shows that Ratcliffe’s claims conflict with the court record and the recollections of others who participated in the operation — at a time when he is under fire for embellishing his record.

View the complete August 1 article by Robert O’Harrow, Jr. and Shawn Boburg on The Washington Post website here.

Talk grows that Trump will fire Dan Coats

Some close to the White House believe that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats may soon be ousted as President Trump’s top intelligence official, a move that would draw ire from Capitol Hill and likely raise new concerns about the administration’s national security apparatus.

The latest speculation around Coats’s potential dismissal comes just weeks after the director of national intelligence (DNI) testified in a high-profile congressional hearing that North Korea is “unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons” amid talks between Trump and the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Longtime Trump confidant Christopher Ruddy this week raised the possibility the president could remove Coats from his post, asserting in a CNN interview that there is “general disappointment” with him at the White House, and that he overstepped his bounds by trying to “make policy and not inform policy.”

View the complete February 20 article by Morgan Chalfant and Jacqueline Thomsen on The Hill website here.

Members of Congress voice alarm about report that Trump has grown frustrated with Coats

Daniel Coats, director of national intelligence, testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Jan. 29. Credit: Aaron P. Bernstein, Bloomberg

Several Republican and Democratic lawmakers threw their support Wednesday behind Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, who some administration officials worry may soon be dismissed from his position by President Trump.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that, according to people familiar with the matter, Trump has become frustrated with Coats over public statements that the president views as undercutting his policy goals.

In an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said he was not thinking about removing Coats.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” Trump said.

View the complete February 20 article by Felicia Sonmez on The Washington Post website here.