7/30/2019

INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Aides to the congressman chosen by President Trump to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies were forced on Tuesday [7-30-19] to clarify his claims that he had won terrorism convictions as a federal prosecutor, as his background came under new scrutiny. Mr. Trump’s pick, Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, had said on his House website and in campaign material that he had tried suspects accused of funneling money to the Hamas terrorist group. But instead, an aide said, Mr. Ratcliffe had investigated side issues related to an initial mistrial, and did not prosecute the case either in that proceeding or in a successful second trial. The questions about Mr. Ratcliffe’s résumé came amid broader concerns from Democrats and even some Republicans about the depth of his experience and his partisan outspokenness.”

Julian E. Barnes and Nicholas Fandos, “Trump’s Pick for Top Intelligence Post Overstated Parts of His Biography,” The New York Times online, July 30, 2019