Coats out
- Thread starter Cuddles
- Start date
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/politics/sue-gordon-resignation-coats-interrupts-meeting/index.html
Top intel official interrupted meeting to urge his deputy to resign
https://www.cnn.com/profiles/zachary-cohen-profile
Washington (CNN)The country's No. 2 intelligence official, Sue Gordon, knew it was likely she would have to eventually step down from her post, but the timing of that decision became more urgent on Thursday after her boss -- outgoing spy chief Dan Coats -- interrupted a meeting she was holding on election security and asked his deputy to submit her letter of resignation, sources familiar with the events told CNN.
While details of the conversation between Gordon, an intelligence veteran of more than 30 years, and Coats remain unclear, sources say that the situation clearly abruptly changed after the meeting was interrupted.
Shortly after her encounter with Coats, Gordon submitted her letter of resignation to Vice President Mike Pence, though the document itself was addressed to Trump, according to officials, a highly unusual move that prompted some confusion among some West Wing officials who waited for the President's tweet confirming the news.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...7b6f5e-bab1-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html
Trump’s pick for intelligence director is a respected Special Operations veteran
Sue Gordon, a career intelligence officer who became the second-highest-ranking official in the U.S. intelligence community, quietly went to the White House on Thursday evening to give President Trump her resignation, along with a handwritten note: “You should have your team.”
The unenviable task of leading that team now falls to retired Adm. Joseph Maguire, a decorated Navy SEAL who until last year had been running a nonprofit foundation that pays for the education of surviving children of Special Operations troops killed in the line of duty.
Maguire is the current director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), tapped for that post by Trump in June 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/10/politics/joseph-maguire-acting-director-national-intelligence/
Top intel official interrupted meeting to urge his deputy to resign
https://www.cnn.com/profiles/zachary-cohen-profile
Washington (CNN)The country's No. 2 intelligence official, Sue Gordon, knew it was likely she would have to eventually step down from her post, but the timing of that decision became more urgent on Thursday after her boss -- outgoing spy chief Dan Coats -- interrupted a meeting she was holding on election security and asked his deputy to submit her letter of resignation, sources familiar with the events told CNN.
While details of the conversation between Gordon, an intelligence veteran of more than 30 years, and Coats remain unclear, sources say that the situation clearly abruptly changed after the meeting was interrupted.
Shortly after her encounter with Coats, Gordon submitted her letter of resignation to Vice President Mike Pence, though the document itself was addressed to Trump, according to officials, a highly unusual move that prompted some confusion among some West Wing officials who waited for the President's tweet confirming the news.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...7b6f5e-bab1-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html
Trump’s pick for intelligence director is a respected Special Operations veteran
Sue Gordon, a career intelligence officer who became the second-highest-ranking official in the U.S. intelligence community, quietly went to the White House on Thursday evening to give President Trump her resignation, along with a handwritten note: “You should have your team.”
The unenviable task of leading that team now falls to retired Adm. Joseph Maguire, a decorated Navy SEAL who until last year had been running a nonprofit foundation that pays for the education of surviving children of Special Operations troops killed in the line of duty.
Maguire is the current director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), tapped for that post by Trump in June 2018.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/10/politics/joseph-maguire-acting-director-national-intelligence/
cheeky kunt:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/24/politics/dni-dan-coats-ukraine-trump/index.html
Former intelligence chief Dan Coats feels 'so bad' for successor as Ukraine drama ramps up
Washington (CNN)Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Tuesday said he feels "so bad" for acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who stepped into the role just as a whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump launched an escalating political controversy.
"Nothing came to me," Coats said Tuesday during an appearance at the Economic Club of Indiana, according to The Indianapolis Star. "I left on August 15. ... The very next day that was presented to Joe (Maguire). I feel so bad for Joe. He is caught in a squeeze here and the lawyers are divided. So they are trying to work all that out. That's about all I can say about that."
Maguire has faced immediate scrutiny in his role after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence refused to comply with a deadline to hand over the whistleblower complaint to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which had been deemed by the intelligence community inspector general to be "credible and urgent."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/24/politics/dni-dan-coats-ukraine-trump/index.html
Former intelligence chief Dan Coats feels 'so bad' for successor as Ukraine drama ramps up
Washington (CNN)Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Tuesday said he feels "so bad" for acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who stepped into the role just as a whistleblower complaint about President Donald Trump launched an escalating political controversy.
"Nothing came to me," Coats said Tuesday during an appearance at the Economic Club of Indiana, according to The Indianapolis Star. "I left on August 15. ... The very next day that was presented to Joe (Maguire). I feel so bad for Joe. He is caught in a squeeze here and the lawyers are divided. So they are trying to work all that out. That's about all I can say about that."
Maguire has faced immediate scrutiny in his role after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence refused to comply with a deadline to hand over the whistleblower complaint to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which had been deemed by the intelligence community inspector general to be "credible and urgent."
#BestPeeps:
https://www.axios.com/trump-richard...nce-50282c35-d802-41ae-9ea3-efba8fbbf02d.html
Trump to install loyalist Ric Grenell as acting intelligence chief
President Trump confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that he will install Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch defender of the president, as the acting director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: The role, which was originally vacated by Dan Coats in August 2019, is one of grave responsibility. As acting DNI, Grenell will be charged with overseeing and integrating the U.S. intelligence community and will advise the president and the National Security Council on intelligence matters that concern national security.
https://www.axios.com/trump-richard...nce-50282c35-d802-41ae-9ea3-efba8fbbf02d.html
Trump to install loyalist Ric Grenell as acting intelligence chief
President Trump confirmed in a tweet Wednesday night that he will install Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch defender of the president, as the acting director of national intelligence.
Why it matters: The role, which was originally vacated by Dan Coats in August 2019, is one of grave responsibility. As acting DNI, Grenell will be charged with overseeing and integrating the U.S. intelligence community and will advise the president and the National Security Council on intelligence matters that concern national security.
- Trump has made no secret of his deep suspicion of and antipathy toward the intelligence community — which he has told advisers is populated by "Deep State" operatives who "hate Trump."
- In Grenell, Trump will have an unwavering loyalist overseeing the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies. Grenell supported Trump during his 2016 campaign and has close ties to Trump's inner circle and the political network surrounding the White House.
- Grenell will also be the first openly gay Cabinet secretary.
- A regular on Fox News, Grenell has been aggressively pursuing Trump's agenda in Germany, earning high praise from Trump and impassioned complaints from some German politicians.
- Grenell has already been Senate-confirmed as ambassador to Germany. It's not yet clear whether Trump will ultimately nominate him for the permanent DNI position, which would require another Senate confirmation. Trump has told people he likes putting people in "acting" positions because it gives him flexibility.
- And on Sunday, Grenell tweeted: ".@realDonaldTrump just called me from AF1 and instructed me to make clear that any nation who chooses to use an untrustworthy 5G vendor will jeopardize our ability to share Intelligence and information at the highest level."
- Some German politicians objected to this Twitter diplomacy, but Grenell doubled down. "No one is threatening you," he tweeted. "I could say you are threatening the US that we must continue as usual even when you make dangerous mistakes. We get to have our own policy too."
- He later planned to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), another loyalist who withdrew himself from consideration after it became clear some senators had concerns about his record.
- The current acting DNI Joseph Maguire came under scrutiny early in his tenure for refusing to send Congress the Ukraine whistleblower complaint, which contained allegations that ultimately led to Trump's impeachment.
Point missed yet again. But not as bad as missing that $SPCE entry, god fucking damn it
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow...el-director-called-national-disgrace-n1139711
Trump's choice for Intel Director called 'a national disgrace'
A notorious online pest has a job: Rick Grenell will oversee the intelligence community of the world's preeminent superpower.
To know anything about Richard Grenell is to know he spent several years annoying people as a prominent internet troll. I generally try to avoid blocking people on Twitter, but even I found Grenell's juvenile antics so grating that I took advantage of the platform's "block" feature.
After one exasperating exchange in 2012, the Washington Post's Dave Weigel asked him, "Shouldn't you eventually get a job and quit trolling people?"
Seven-and-a-half years later, the notorious online pest has a job: Grenell will oversee the intelligence community of the world's preeminent superpower.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, to be the next acting director of national intelligence.... The post is a Cabinet-level position -- the Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies and is the president's principal adviser on intelligence issues.
Throughout Trump's tenure as president, a variety of observers -- including me -- have marveled at some of the Republican's more ridiculous personnel decisions. We've said on multiple occasions, "This radically unqualified person has no business being chosen for an important governmental post." I fear the assessment has lost some of its potency with repetition.
And that would be a shame because naming Grenell as the director of National Intelligence is bonkers. If there were a competition for the most absurd personnel choice of Trump's presidency, this would have to be at or near the top.
Grenell has never served a day in the intelligence community in any capacity. He held some communications jobs -- Grenell briefly worked on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, for example -- before Trump tapped him to serve as the ambassador to Germany, where Grenell managed to routinely infuriate our allies in Berlin.
Though Trump yesterday referred to Grenell as "highly respected," the truth is that Grenell was so reviled in his current diplomatic post that some German officials spoke publicly about the possibility of asking him to leave the country.
And did I mention that Grenell was also a relevant figure in the White House's Ukraine scandal? Because that's another relevant part of his c.v.
He'll now parlay that failure into leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. What's more, while this is a Senate-confirmed position, Grenell will reportedly begin his tenure today in an acting capacity.
Samantha Power, who was President Barack Obama's ambassador to the United Nations, said in a tweet, "Appointing [Grenell] who has politicized every issue he has touched and has contempt for facts, would be a travesty." Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, added, "This is a national disgrace."
Trump's choice for Intel Director called 'a national disgrace'
A notorious online pest has a job: Rick Grenell will oversee the intelligence community of the world's preeminent superpower.
To know anything about Richard Grenell is to know he spent several years annoying people as a prominent internet troll. I generally try to avoid blocking people on Twitter, but even I found Grenell's juvenile antics so grating that I took advantage of the platform's "block" feature.
After one exasperating exchange in 2012, the Washington Post's Dave Weigel asked him, "Shouldn't you eventually get a job and quit trolling people?"
Seven-and-a-half years later, the notorious online pest has a job: Grenell will oversee the intelligence community of the world's preeminent superpower.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, to be the next acting director of national intelligence.... The post is a Cabinet-level position -- the Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees the FBI, the CIA, the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies and is the president's principal adviser on intelligence issues.
Throughout Trump's tenure as president, a variety of observers -- including me -- have marveled at some of the Republican's more ridiculous personnel decisions. We've said on multiple occasions, "This radically unqualified person has no business being chosen for an important governmental post." I fear the assessment has lost some of its potency with repetition.
And that would be a shame because naming Grenell as the director of National Intelligence is bonkers. If there were a competition for the most absurd personnel choice of Trump's presidency, this would have to be at or near the top.
Grenell has never served a day in the intelligence community in any capacity. He held some communications jobs -- Grenell briefly worked on Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, for example -- before Trump tapped him to serve as the ambassador to Germany, where Grenell managed to routinely infuriate our allies in Berlin.
Though Trump yesterday referred to Grenell as "highly respected," the truth is that Grenell was so reviled in his current diplomatic post that some German officials spoke publicly about the possibility of asking him to leave the country.
And did I mention that Grenell was also a relevant figure in the White House's Ukraine scandal? Because that's another relevant part of his c.v.
He'll now parlay that failure into leading the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. What's more, while this is a Senate-confirmed position, Grenell will reportedly begin his tenure today in an acting capacity.
Samantha Power, who was President Barack Obama's ambassador to the United Nations, said in a tweet, "Appointing [Grenell] who has politicized every issue he has touched and has contempt for facts, would be a travesty." Joe Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, added, "This is a national disgrace."
