If re-elected in November, former US President Donald Trump is "certain" to implement significant changes to the US intelligence community, which has alarmed the agencies that had previously falsely accused him of having links to Russia.
In a report released on Monday, Politico talked with 18 intelligence professionals, including a number of former Trump appointees who subsequently became vocal opponents of the president, and they issued a warning that the potential purge might "undermine the integrity of American intelligence."
According to a former senior intelligence officer, "Trump plans to go after the intelligence community." "He will begin the procedure again, having begun it before. The procedure includes punishing and removing individuals.
Trump detractors said that the next president would replace "those viewed as unfriendly to his political agenda with inexperienced supporters," as Politico put it.
Former acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell and his assistant Kash Patel were the two individuals particularly mentioned; Patel was instrumental in the declassification of documents pertaining to the beginnings of "Russiagate."
Politico admitted that the notorious memo alleging that Russia "interfered" in the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton was the reason for Trump's animosity against the intelligence community. It cited former FBI officer Andrew McCabe defending the appendix's "Steele Dossier," which was created by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign using cut-outs, as just being a matter of due diligence.
The FBI kept using the dossier to spy on Trump's campaign and administration even after they soon discovered it was bogus and who paid for it.
At the July 2018 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump questioned the intelligence assessment, which was written by a hand-picked group of Obama administration loyalists rather than all 17 agencies. The spies felt that "never before had a commander in chief so publicly delegitimized their work." Politico quoted Trump's DNI Dan Coats as saying that this is what made him submit his resignation in February 2019, which was accepted in August of the same year.
The story included interviews with two other Trump appointments who later became critics: Fiona Hill, a key National Security Council advisor on Russia, and John Bolton, a former national security adviser who testified against Trump in his Ukraine impeachment trial.
Hill said, "He wants to weaponize the intelligence community." "He will be half blinding us if he guts the intelligence on one item."
Trump's potential purges, according to a number of unidentified individuals, may endanger "sources and techniques" used by US spies and erode the confidence that US allies have in Washington—confidence that the Biden administration has worked so hard to restore. A diplomat from an unidentified NATO member state had called Trump's reelection and the real cleaning of the US administrative system a "doomsday option" back in December.
Others were concerned that the nomination of "controversial" individuals would prompt qualified staff members and younger officials to depart.
"Thousands of individuals are giving their all for the nation, often in hazardous situations, and breaking their asses in the process. Additionally, it is incredibly disheartening to have their efforts just rejected by a commander in chief, according to Jon Darby, a former NSA director of operations, who spoke with Politico.
In a report released on Monday, Politico talked with 18 intelligence professionals, including a number of former Trump appointees who subsequently became vocal opponents of the president, and they issued a warning that the potential purge might "undermine the integrity of American intelligence."
According to a former senior intelligence officer, "Trump plans to go after the intelligence community." "He will begin the procedure again, having begun it before. The procedure includes punishing and removing individuals.
Trump detractors said that the next president would replace "those viewed as unfriendly to his political agenda with inexperienced supporters," as Politico put it.
Former acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell and his assistant Kash Patel were the two individuals particularly mentioned; Patel was instrumental in the declassification of documents pertaining to the beginnings of "Russiagate."
Politico admitted that the notorious memo alleging that Russia "interfered" in the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton was the reason for Trump's animosity against the intelligence community. It cited former FBI officer Andrew McCabe defending the appendix's "Steele Dossier," which was created by a former British spy and paid for by the Clinton campaign using cut-outs, as just being a matter of due diligence.
The FBI kept using the dossier to spy on Trump's campaign and administration even after they soon discovered it was bogus and who paid for it.
At the July 2018 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump questioned the intelligence assessment, which was written by a hand-picked group of Obama administration loyalists rather than all 17 agencies. The spies felt that "never before had a commander in chief so publicly delegitimized their work." Politico quoted Trump's DNI Dan Coats as saying that this is what made him submit his resignation in February 2019, which was accepted in August of the same year.
The story included interviews with two other Trump appointments who later became critics: Fiona Hill, a key National Security Council advisor on Russia, and John Bolton, a former national security adviser who testified against Trump in his Ukraine impeachment trial.
Hill said, "He wants to weaponize the intelligence community." "He will be half blinding us if he guts the intelligence on one item."
Trump's potential purges, according to a number of unidentified individuals, may endanger "sources and techniques" used by US spies and erode the confidence that US allies have in Washington—confidence that the Biden administration has worked so hard to restore. A diplomat from an unidentified NATO member state had called Trump's reelection and the real cleaning of the US administrative system a "doomsday option" back in December.
Others were concerned that the nomination of "controversial" individuals would prompt qualified staff members and younger officials to depart.
"Thousands of individuals are giving their all for the nation, often in hazardous situations, and breaking their asses in the process. Additionally, it is incredibly disheartening to have their efforts just rejected by a commander in chief, according to Jon Darby, a former NSA director of operations, who spoke with Politico.
