The Patriot Post® · Trump's Intelligence
Donald Trump’s tweets questioning the intelligence community assessments of Russian hackings have been cause for political concern since his election victory. His recent tweet — “The Intelligence’ briefing on so-called ‘Russian hacking’ was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!” — only added fuel to the controversy. To top it off, former CIA director James Woolsey quit Trump’s transition team, saying he didn’t want to “fly under false colors.” He added, “I’ve been an adviser and felt that I was making a contribution. … But I’m not really functioning as an adviser anymore.”
Whether or not there were any significant disagreements between Trump and Woolsey, his leaving does further the narrative that Trump wants to significantly revamp the intelligence community. Seemingly sensing the mounting concern that a drastic restructuring is imminent, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer sought to quell the rumors, stating Thursday, “All discussions are tentative. The president-elect’s top priorities will be to ensure the safety of the American people and the security of the nation, and he’s committed to finding the best and most effective ways to do it.” Spicer then pointedly added, “There is no truth to this idea of restructuring the intelligence community’s infrastructure.”
Current National Intelligence Director James Clapper has been rather careful in his comments regarding concerns over Trump’s views on intelligence. He defended the intelligence community’s work while telling Congress on Thursday that “there’s always room for improvement.” Clapper also made it clear that he doesn’t see reforming the community as merely a one-man show. “I do think it would be useful though if we are going to reform or change the DNI, or change CIA, that some attention be given in our case to the legislative underpinnings that established the DNI in the first place,” he argued. “Congress, no pun intended, gets a vote here, I think.”
Regarding the hacking of the DNC, which the intelligence community is now almost positive Russia is responsible, Trump may be hesitant to fully accept the communities findings due to the current Leftmedia’s narrative calling into question the legitimacy of his victory. Trump tweeted on Friday, “While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations including the Democratic National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election including the fact that there was no tampering whatsoever with voting machines. There were attempts to hack the Republican National Committee, but the RNC had strong hacking defenses and the hackers were unsuccessful.”
While concerns over Trump’s supposedly cozy relationship with Moscow linger, his choice for director of national intelligence, former Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), should quell some of those fears. Coats has been a strong critic of Russia, especially since its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.