HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Intelligence Committee has asked one of the top contractors to President Trump’s inaugural to provide it with documents about the event, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday, opening up a new line of inquiry into the planning and financing of the ceremonies. The committee asked […]
Category: Intelligence
3/29/2019
DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “When Adam Schiff was poised to take over the House Intelligence Committee late last year, he spoke about his desire to restore comity to the panel after two years of infighting over the Russian investigation. Three months into the new Democratic Congress, the committee’s partisan warfare is more intense […]
3/28/2019
DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Intelligence Committee’s first hearing since Robert S. Mueller III completed his report had barely begun when the panel’s Republicans moved en masse to demand the resignation of the committee’s chairman. It went downhill from there. The acrimony on display Thursday [3-28-19] as the intelligence committee tried to […]
3/26/2019
INFRASTRUCTURE/INTELLIGENCE/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDERS: “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows… An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems. Human-made or naturally occurring EMPs can affect large geographic […]
3/6/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Wednesday [3-6-19] revoked an Obama-era requirement for reporting civilian casualties that resulted from U.S. intelligence operations in non-combat areas across the globe. Trump struck a section of an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama that required both the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies to report […]
3/6/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “US intelligence officials will no longer be required to publicly disclose the number of civilians killed in airstrikes against terrorist targets ‘outside areas of active hostilities’ due to a new executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Wednesday [3-6-19]. However, given the secrecy surrounding counterterrorism strikes conducted by US intelligence […]
3/6/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has overturned an Obama-era requirement for intelligence officials to publish an annual report on air strikes in places like Yemen, Libya and Pakistan — a document that experts called the main means for publishing official information about CIA drone strikes. In an executive order signed Wednesday [3-6-19], Trump canceled a […]
3/6/2019
HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/LEGAL/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Michael D. Cohen on Wednesday [3-6-19] provided new documents to the House Intelligence Committee that he said illustrated changes made at the request of President Trump’s lawyers to a knowingly false written statement that he delivered to Congress in 2017, according to three people familiar with the matter. Mr. […]
2/25/2019
INTELLIGENCE/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “RT @realDonaldTrump: Highly respected Senator Richard Burr, head of Senate Intelligence, said, after interviewing over 200 witnesses and st…” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 25, 2019 6:36 am […]
2/22/2019
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Highly respected Senator Richard Burr, head of Senate Intelligence, said, after interviewing over 200 witnesses and studying over 2 million pages of documents, ‘WE HAVE FOUND NO COLLUSION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA.’ The Witch Hunt, so bad for our Country, must end!” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 22, 2019 9:11 […]
2/21/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MICHAEL COHEN/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday [2-26-19] in one of three appearances before U.S. lawmakers next week ahead of reporting to prison in May. Cohen, Trump’s longtime fixer who is set to go to prison for three years after pleading […]
2/21/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MICHAEL COHEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen spent several hours Thursday [2-21-19] inside the Senate Intelligence Committee’s secure spaces ahead of his closed-door testimony scheduled before the panel next week. Cohen was on Capitol Hill on Thursday in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s secure spaces ahead of next week’s interview. He […]
2/20/2019
INTELLIGENCE/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump denied Wednesday [2-10-19] that he is considering firing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, despite several reports that the president is frustrated with the chief intelligence official…The president’s comments came after reports that Trump was fuming and ‘enraged’ over Coats’ remarks during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee […]
2/18/2019
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’After two years and interviewing more than two hundred witnesses, the Senate Intelligence Committee has NOT discovered any direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and Russia.’ Ken Dilanian @NBCNews” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 18, 2019 6:56 am […]
2/15/2019
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In the same chamber that wields vast oversight power over his office, President Donald Trump decried ‘ridiculous partisan investigations,’ during his second State of the Union address on Tuesday [2-12-19] night. Speaking to a joint session of a divided Congress, Trump called for an end to any investigations into his administration…Democrats […]
2/13/2019
INTELLIGENCE/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate Intelligence Committee: THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF COLLUSION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 13, 2019 5:58 am […]
2/10/2019
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senator Richard Burr, The Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, just announced that after almost two years, more than two hundred interviews, and thousands of documents, they have found NO COLLUSION BETWEEN TRUMP AND RUSSIA! Is anybody really surprised by this?” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 10, 2019 7:41 am […]
2/8/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump complained Friday [2-8-19] that the ‘mainstream media’ has paid little attention to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr’s assertion in an interview with CBS News that his committee has found no evidence of collusion between the president’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government. The tweets come after Burr […]
2/8/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The mainstream media has refused to cover the fact that the head of the VERY important Senate Intelligence Committee, after two years of intensive study and access to Intelligence that only they could get, just stated that they have found NO COLLUSION between ‘Trump’ & Russia….” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, February 8, 2019 […]
2/7/2019
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said Thursday [2-7-19] that his committee’s Russia investigation has yet to find evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Kremlin but will soon release a report on the Obama administration’s response to Russian interference in the last presidential election. In […]
2/4/2019
INTELLIGENCE/ISIS/MILITARY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “ISIS will claim victory over the US and is likely to regain territory as a result of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria, according to a new report released Monday [2-4-19] by the Pentagon’s Inspector General…The report, the first of its kind since Trump announced plans to pull all troops […]
1/31/2019
INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “….I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community. Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, January 31, 2019 4:40 pm […]
1/31/2019
FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A day after he lashed out at U.S. intelligence agency chiefs over their assessments of global threats, President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course Thursday [1-31-19] and said that he and the intelligence community ‘are all on the same page.’ Trump met with his director of national intelligence and other top […]
1/30/2019
CHUCK SCHUMER/FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer swiped at President Donald Trump on Wednesday [1-30-19] evening, urging America’s top intelligence official to stage an intervention and educate the commander in chief about how important it is for him to back the U.S. intelligence community. Coats, who served with Schumer in the Senate, […]
1/30/2019
CONGRESS/INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump lashed out at his intelligence chiefs on Wednesday [1-10-19] after they told Congress that North Korea is unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and that the Iran nuclear deal is working. ‘Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!’ Trump tweeted. Democratic lawmakers serving on Congress’ intelligence committees accused […]
1/30/2019
INTELLIGENCE/IRAN/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump lashed out at the nation’s intelligence agencies, accusing them of being ‘passive and naïve’ about Iran’s dangers and defending his stance on North Korea. His outburst showed the rift between the bureaucracy and a president seeking to challenge foreign policy orthodoxy. • In a sharp deviation from statements […]
1/30/2019
AFGHANISTAN/FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump lashed out at the nation’s intelligence agencies on Wednesday [1-30-19], accusing them of being ‘passive and naive’ about the dangers posed by Iran, and defending his handling of Afghanistan, North Korea and the Islamic State. A day after the agencies issued their annual assessment of global threats […]
1/30/2019
CHUCK SCHUMER/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called President Donald Trump’s criticism of US intelligence leaders’ security assessments a threat to the public’s trust in national security in a letter to Trump’s intelligence chiefs Wednesday [1-20-19]. Trump, in a rebuke that was reminiscent of his past criticisms of law enforcement officials, said earlier […]
1/30/2019
2016 ELECTION/FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump lit into the U.S. intelligence community on Wednesday [1-30-19], telling his intel chiefs to ‘go back to school’ just one day after they publicly contradicted him on several of his foreign policy priorities…Trump’s tweets were a direct rebuttal of the public testimony his top intelligence chiefs gave […]
1/30/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MIDDLE EAST/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but….” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, […]
1/29/2019
DEMS/INTELLIGENCE/IRAN/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VENEZUELA: “A new American intelligence assessment of global threats concluded that North Korea is ‘unlikely to give up’ all of its nuclear stockpiles and that Iran is not ‘currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activity’ needed to make a bomb. Their conclusions challenged President Trump’s assertions on both countries. • As Senator […]
1/29/2019
INTELLIGENCE/IRAN/ISIS/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has previously declared that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, touted the defeat of ISIS, doubted the effects of climate change and railed against the Iran nuclear deal as ‘defective at its core.’ But the most senior intelligence officials in the Trump administration suggested Tuesday [1-29-19] […]
1/24/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MICHAEL COHEN/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was subpoenaed Thursday [1-24-19] to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in mid-February, a source close to Cohen told CNN. Cohen’s lawyer Lanny Davis confirmed the subpoena was issued Thursday and said that Cohen intended to comply. ‘We will comply and hope to […]
1/24/2019
INTELLIGENCE/MICHAEL COHEN/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena to compel Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer, to appear before the panel next month to formally correct false testimony that he delivered last year about a proposed Trump Organization project in Moscow, one of his lawyers confirmed on Thursday [1-24-19]. The […]
12/19/2018
HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/ROGER STONE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday [12-20-18] to send the transcript of its 2017 interview with Roger Stone to special counsel Robert Mueller, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican on the panel, said the committee approved it unanimously by voice […]
12/5/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Shortly before 1 p.m. on Tuesday [12-4-18], having just received a classified briefing from the director of the CIA in the basement of the Capitol, two Republican senators stepped to a crowd of cameras and reporters. With a few pointed words, the pair blew up the Trump administration’s efforts to minimize […]
11/27/2018
CLIMATE CHANGE/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a wide-ranging interview, President Donald Trump confronted why he’s voiced skepticism on a climate change report issued over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, telling the Washington Post “I don’t see” the devastating climate change effects warned about in the report. ‘One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, […]
11/23/2018
INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump disputed that U.S. intelligence officials had concluded that the de facto leader of American ally Saudi Arabia ordered the killing of a U.S.-based journalist critical of the kingdom’s royal family. Citing vehement denials by the crown prince and king that they were involved, Trump said Thursday that ‘maybe […]
11/21/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a stunning statement, brutally honest even by Trumpian standards, the President made his views of Saudi Arabia — past, present and future — crystal clear Tuesday [11-20-18]. Undermining his own CIA’s intelligence assessment and hyperventilating about the virtues of the Saudis (a ‘truly spectacular ally,’ he called them last weekend), […]
11/21/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “While some members of the US intelligence community have acknowledged that they are frustrated by President Donald Trump’s public rejection of the CIA’s assessment regarding the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, current and former officials accept that it is well within the President’s rights to be skeptical about information […]
11/20/2018
INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump defied the nation’s intelligence agencies and a growing body of evidence on Tuesday [11-20-18] to declare his unswerving loyalty to Saudi Arabia, asserting that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s culpability for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi might never be known. In a remarkable statement that appeared calculated to end […]
11/19/2018
INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For a president who professes to revere the US military more than any of his predecessors, Donald Trump gets entangled in a lot of scrapes that raise doubts about the sincerity of his admiration. He has feuded with war heroes and the relatives of fallen soldiers, sparked controversy by ducking remembrance observances […]
11/9/2018
FRANCE/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WAR: “Every week, I offer a glimpse of the kind of intelligence assessments that are likely to come across the desk of the President of the United States. Modeled on the President’s Daily Briefing, or PDB, which the director of national intelligence prepares for the President almost daily, my Presidential Weekly Briefing focuses […]
10/31/2018
2016 ELECTION/CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/SENATE/STEVE BANNON/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is pursuing a wide-ranging examination of former White House adviser Steve Bannon’s activities during the 2016 presidential campaign, three sources familiar with the inquiry told Reuters. The committee is looking into what Bannon might know about any contacts during the campaign between Moscow and two advisers […]
10/23/2018
DEMS/ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP BUSINESS: “If Democrats take back the House, the Intelligence Committee will investigate questions involving Russian money laundering and President Donald Trump’s businesses, Rep. Adam Schiff of California said on Tuesday [10-23-18]. Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on ‘The Situation Room’ that Russian money laundering is one area […]
10/18/2018
FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/SAUDI ARABIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Since journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared earlier this month, President Donald Trump has acted like his own world-class spies and hackers don’t exist. The U.S. intelligence community is reportedly increasingly convinced that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is culpable in Khashoggi’s killing. Publicly, though, Trump has evinced no knowledge of […]
10/10/2018
BRITAIN/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The retired British spy who wrote an explosive dossier about President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia broke his silence to criticize Trump and the ‘distorted’ state of US politics. The former spy, Christopher Steele, wrote to Vanity Fair shortly after he was named to the magazine’s ‘2018 New Establishment List.’ CNN […]
10/8/2018
CAMPAIGN/INTELLIGENCE/ISRAEL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A top Trump campaign official requested online manipulation proposals by an Israeli intelligence firm in 2016 to help defeat Hillary Clinton and Republican primary opponents, The New York Times reports. There is no evidence Trump’s campaign acted on any of the proposals by Psy-Group, a company staffed by former Israeli intelligence […]
10/8/2018
INTELLIGENCE/ISRAEL/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A top Trump campaign official requested proposals in 2016 from an Israeli company to create fake online identities, to use social media manipulation and to gather intelligence to help defeat Republican primary race opponents and Hillary Clinton, according to interviews and copies of the proposals. The Trump campaign’s interest in the […]
9/28/2018
2016 ELECTION/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. House of Representatives committee voted on Friday [9-28-18] to release dozens of transcripts of interviews from its investigation of Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections, including conversations with senior associates of President Donald Trump. The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to send transcripts of […]
9/28/2018
2016 ELECTION/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A U.S. House of Representatives committee voted on Friday [9-28-18] to release dozens of transcripts of interviews from its investigation of Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections, including conversations with senior associates of President Donald Trump. The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to send transcripts of […]
9/27/2018
2016 ELECTION/HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A U.S. House of Representatives committee will vote on Friday [9-28-18] on whether to release dozens of transcripts of interviews from its investigation of Russia and the 2016 U.S. election, including conversations with senior associates of President Donald Trump. The House Intelligence Committee is expected to agree […]
9/26/2018
HOUSE OF REPS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The House Intelligence Committee will vote Friday [9-28-18] to release the transcripts of more than 50 interviews the panel conducted as part of its investigation into Russian election meddling, the committee posted Wednesday [9-26-18]. The vote, scheduled by House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, will pave the way for […]
8/24/2018
CONGRESS/DEMS/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Democratic lawmakers on Monday [9-24-18] renewed their calls for Republicans in Congress to pass legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference amid heightened uncertainty over Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s fate in the Trump administration. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate […]
9/21/2018
CABINET/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/JAMES COMEY/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, suggested last year that he secretly record President Trump in the White House to expose the chaos consuming the administration, and he discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for being unfit. Mr. Rosenstein […]
9/21/2018
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a rare retreat, President Trump on Friday [9-21-18] reversed himself and said he was no longer demanding that documents related to the Russia investigation be immediately declassified and released to the public. Taking to Twitter on Friday morning, Mr. Trump said that instead of an immediate release, Justice Department […]
9/21/2018
CYBERWAR/DHS/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration touted the National Cyber Strategy it released Thursday [9-20-18] as proof of its commitment to protecting U.S. government networks and critical infrastructure from cyber threats, but the document offered little new information about how President Donald Trump plans to improve U.S. cybersecurity, even as intelligence officials continue to warn […]
9/20/2018
INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump suggested that some of the information related to the Russia investigation that he sought to publicly release may not be disclosed, at the request of US allies — a stark reversal just four days after issuing an unprecedented directive for ‘immediate declassification’…Trump said he had received […]
9/19/2018
FBI/INTELLIGENCE/JEFF SESSIONS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump excoriated on Wednesday [9-19-18] his attorney general, the F.B.I., the special counsel and members of the intelligence community — citing conspiracy theories by conservatives even as he declared in a wide-ranging interview that he is ‘not a conspiratorial person.’ Mr. Trump used the Oval Office interview with The […]
9/16/2018
INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For seven years, Kim Jong-un has pursued an in-your-face strategy for building his nuclear arsenal: detonating blasts underground and firing missiles into the sky, all to send the message that his country’s nuclear buildup is irreversible. Now he appears to be changing his approach, current and former American intelligence officials say, […]
9/13/2018
HURRICANE/INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/PUERTO RICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A military intelligence assessment warned days after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico of a ‘high’ potential for government failure on the island, new documents obtained by the House Oversight Committee reveal…The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings, is seizing on the newly obtained intelligence assessment to urge his Republican counterpart atop […]
9/13/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “RT @realDonaldTrump: ‘I can say, as it relates to the Senate Intelligence Committee Investigation, that we have NO hard evidence of Collusi…” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 13, 2018 7:18 am […]
9/12/2018
GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’I can say, as it relates to the Senate Intelligence Committee Investigation, that we have NO hard evidence of Collusion.’ Richard Burr (R-NC) Senate Intelligence Committee, Chairman” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, September 12, 2018 9:06 am […]
9/12/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order authorising sanctions against any countries or individuals found interfering in US elections. The order instructs the intelligence community to monitor and report on attempts to disrupt election infrastructure as well as propaganda. The directive itself is not a sanction, but imposes […]
8/31/2018
INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LOBBYING/PAUL MANAFORT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Washington lobbyist W. Samuel Patten pleaded guilty Friday [8-31-18] to acting as an unregistered foreign lobbyist, and admitted to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee and funneling a Ukrainian oligarch’s money to Donald Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee. Patten’s plea and cooperation agreement is connected to special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation […]
8/24/2018
2016 ELECTION/CIA/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In 2016, American intelligence agencies delivered urgent and explicit warnings about Russia’s intentions to try to tip the American presidential election — and a detailed assessment of the operation afterward — thanks in large part to informants close to President Vladimir V. Putin and in the Kremlin who provided crucial […]
8/20/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “More than 175 former U.S. State Department and Pentagon officials added their names to a statement signed by former national security officials criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan. New signatories to the statement, initially issued last week by 15 former directors […]
INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Friday [8-17-18] that he would likely strip the security clearance of a Justice Department official ‘very quickly,’ opening a new front in his battle with figures related to the special counsel investigation into his campaign and Russian election interference. The official, Bruce Ohr, is a longtime […]
8/17/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sixty former CIA officials warned President Donald Trump in a statement on Friday [8-17-18] that ‘the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views.’ The letter, which comes after Trump’s decision to revoke former CIA Director John […]
8/17/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Friday [8-17-18] said he ‘never respected’ former CIA Director John Brennan and warned that he may strip security clearances from other current and former officials ‘very quickly.’ While speaking with reporters on the South Lawn Friday, Trump doubled down on his action to remove Brennan’s clearance, which […]
8/17/2018
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/OBAMA ADMIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration this week took a major step toward empowering the military to conduct more cyberattacks. President Donald Trump rescinded Presidential Policy Directive 20, an Obama-era document that required high-level discussions between many agencies before the military could conduct significant cyber operations. The change gives the military freer rein to […]
8/17/2018
INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump threatened on Friday [8-17-18] to quickly revoke the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a little-known Justice Department official, for the first time seeking to apply his power to cut access to sensitive information to a midlevel government worker rather than a prominent former national security official. Departing […]
8/17/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump faced an unprecedented outcry from former intelligence officials on Friday [8-17-18] after stripping the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, but Trump defended his move and said he planned another one soon. The bipartisan group, which included Robert Gates, George Tenet, David Petraeus, James Clapper and […]
8/16/2018
2016 ELECTION/FBI/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s decision to declassify competing congressional memos about the validity of the so-called Steele dossier means the FBI has lost its authority to rebuff Freedom of Information Act requests about the bureau’s efforts to verify the report’s intelligence linking Trump to Russia during the 2016 campaign, a federal judge […]
8/16/2018
INTELLIGENCE/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT : “…..released in 2017. If his statement is based on intelligence he has seen since leaving office, it constitutes an intelligence breach……’ Richard Burr (R-NC) Senate Intel Cmte Chair @LouDobbs” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 16, 2018 9:04 pm […]
8/16/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “’Director Brennan’s recent statements purport to know as fact that the Trump campaign colluded with a foreign power. If Director Brennan’s statement is based on intelligence he received while leading the CIA, why didn’t he include it in the Intelligence Community Assessment……” –Donald Trump, Twitter.com, August 16, 2018 8:54 pm […]
8/16/2018
INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Retired Adm. William McRaven, the man who oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, issued a stunning rebuke of President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan on Thursday [8-16-18], defending the former spy chief as ‘one of the finest […]
8/16/2018
INTELLIGENCE/JAMES CLAPPER/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper suggested Thursday [8-16-18] that President Donald Trump’s threat to revoke security clearances was being leveled against an ‘enemies list’ of those in the intelligence community who have been critical of his administration — not those who have committed any wrongdoing…The former intelligence chief […]
8/16/2018
INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For more than a year, law enforcement officials have repeatedly rebuffed President Trump’s efforts to use the power of his office to derail the Russia investigation. Stymied, Mr. Trump is lashing out in other ways against an investigation that he clearly hates or fears. The president said Thursday [8-16-18] that […]
8/15/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump announced Wednesday [8-15-18] he has revoked former CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance, marking an unprecedented use of a president’s authority over the classification system to strike back at one of his prominent critics…Brennan is the first former national security official to see his security clearance revoked since […]
8/15/2018
INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When the White House announced on Wednesday [8-15-18] that President Trump was revoking or reviewing the security clearances of former officials who have emerged as some of his chief political antagonists, the list also included a little-known career Justice Department official, Bruce Ohr. Mr. Ohr has found himself at […]
8/15/2018
CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/OBAMA ADMIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “In a remarkable attack on a political opponent, President Trump on Wednesday [8-15-18] revoked the security clearance of John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director under President Barack Obama, citing what he called Mr. Brennan’s ‘erratic’ behavior. The White House had threatened last month to strip Mr. Brennan and other Obama […]
8/9/2018
DEVIN NUNES/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “In a newly leaked audio recording, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, a California Republican, suggests that his party needs to retain control of the House of Representatives to protect President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert Mueller…The remarks appear to be a blunt assessment from Nunes, a top Trump […]
8/9/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. unveiled a new series of sanctions on Moscow over a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K., in a rare direct confrontation that could escalate into a broad series of diplomatic and economic measures between the two countries. The U.S. announcement Wednesday [8-8-18] included […]
8/3/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senior intelligence officials described Russian efforts to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections as deep, real and ongoing, showcasing their efforts to combat a threat President Trump has repeatedly dismissed and played down. ‘We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,’ Director […]
8/2/2018
ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Senior Trump administration officials warned on Thursday [8-2-18] that Russia is trying to interfere in November’s midterm elections and the 2020 presidential election and vowed to combat Moscow’s aggression. The high-profile alarm sounded at the daily White House briefing was striking for the officials’ unequivocal warnings, a departure from President Trump’s fumbling […]
8/2/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “It has been more than two weeks since President Donald Trump met one-on-one with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, but Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats admitted Thursday [8-2-18] that he is still does not know the details of what was said during the sit-down. Briefing reporters from the […]
7/24/2018
2016 ELECTION/DEVIN NUNES/INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr told CNN Tuesday [7-24-18] he believed there were ‘sound reasons’ for judges to approve the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant on former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page, in yet another break between the Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees…Burr’s […]
7/24/2018
CONGRESS/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of interfering in U.S. elections, will not be invited to address Congress or visit the Capitol if he accepts President Donald Trump’s invitation to come to Washington, Republican congressional leaders said on Tuesday [7-24-18]. The comments by House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader […]
7/23/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House on Monday 7-23-18] threatened to strip six former U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials, including Obama-era CIA director John Brennan, of their security clearances as President Donald Trump considers striking back at critics of his summit meeting last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The threat against Brennan […]
7/22/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy on Sunday [7-22-18] called on President Donald Trump to affirm wholeheartedly the intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election. ‘The evidence is overwhelming,’ Gowdy said. ‘It can be proven beyond any evidentiary burden that Russia is not our friend and […]
7/21/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats issued a statement Saturday [7-21-18] saying that he did not mean ‘to be disrespectful or criticize the actions’ of President Donald Trump during a recent interview in which he appeared surprised to learn that the White House had decided to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to […]
7/20/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The post-Helsinki tension between President Donald Trump and his Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats appeared to have cooled after the President reaffirmed his support for the intelligence community and its assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Then came Aspen. ‘Say that again?’ Coats said, incredulously, as he was […]
7/20/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It was a jaw-dropping moment that embodied the utterly unfathomable, logic-defying and increasingly troubling twilight zone into which Washington has plunged since the Helsinki summit. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was onstage at a security forum in Aspen, Colorado, when he was told by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that the White House […]
7/20/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/MIKE POMPEO/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday [7-19-18] he believes that Russia will try to undermine democracies around the world for the foreseeable future…Pompeo’s comments came just days after President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin one-on-one in Helsinki. Trump provoked furor in Washington when, standing beside […]
7/19/2018
2016 ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Trump plans to invite President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to visit Washington in the fall, the White House said Thursday [7-19-18] — an invitation that stunned the nation’s top intelligence official, who said he was still groping for details of what the two leaders had discussed in their […]
7/19/2018
DHS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Thursday [7-19-18] declined to say she agrees that Russian election interference was designed to help President Donald Trump, though she said she accepts the US intelligence community’s assessment that concluded just that. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Nielsen created some confusion when she seemed to deny that […]
7/19/2018
2016 ELECTION/DEMS/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday [7-19-18] he did not know what happened in the one-on-one meeting in Helsinki between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that has raised concern among many U.S. lawmakers. Republicans and Democrats in Congress are seeking answers on what agreements […]
7/19/2018
DHS/ELECTIONS/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Thursday [7-19-18] said the United States needed to be prepared for an attempt by Russia to interfere in elections in all 50 U.S. states this year, adding that there was no question Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential contest…President Donald Trump this week has struggled […]
7/18/2018
INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump said on Wednesday [7-18-18] that Russia was no longer targeting the United States, contradicting his own intelligence chief and just a day after promising that his administration was working to prevent Kremlin interference in the upcoming midterm elections. Mr. Trump’s comments were the latest in a dizzying collection of conflicting […]