The New York Times reports:
President Trump on Friday abruptly dropped his plan to nominate Representative John Ratcliffe, Republican of Texas, as the nation’s top intelligence official. The announcement, made on Twitter, came after questions about his qualifications and whether he had exaggerated his résumé.
Law & Crime reports:
In a 2015 press release, Ratcliffe’s House website stated, “When serving by special appointment in U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation, he convicted individuals who were funneling money to Hamas behind the front of a charitable organization.” His official campaign website, in a February 2016 post, also touted his “special appointment as the prosecutor in U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation, one of the nation’s largest terrorism financing cases.”
But ABC News could find no public court records that connect Ratcliffe to either of the two trials for the case. Former officials directly involved in the decade-long Holy Land Foundation investigation could not recall Ratcliffe having any role, and four former defense attorneys who served on the cases told ABC News on Monday they had no recollection of Ratcliffe being involved with any of the proceedings that resulted in the convictions of their clients.
Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019
….John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my nomination for DNI shortly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019
Translation:
Even though Republicans control the Senate, there was sufficient opposition (in light of Ratcliffe’s lack of experience and … creative … resume) from _within_ the President’s party to effectively kill the nomination.
But sure, blame the media for doing its job. https://t.co/oTqTQ1YYrK
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) August 2, 2019
Trump nominated @RepRatcliffe on Sunday; reporters spent several days vetting him and pointing out how he padded his resume; and now the nomination is no more. More proof of the power of real reporting.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 2, 2019
And, for the record, Ratcliffe was never the victim of “slander” or “libel.” He was the subject of vigorous, fair reporting about how he portrayed his tenure as a prosecutor.
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) August 2, 2019
While I am and will remain very grateful to the President for his intention to nominate me as Director of National Intelligence, I am withdrawing from consideration.
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) August 2, 2019
I was humbled and honored that the President put his trust in me to lead our nation’s intelligence operations and remain convinced that when confirmed, I would have done so with the objectivity, fairness and integrity that our intelligence agencies need and deserve.
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) August 2, 2019
However, I do not wish for a national security and intelligence debate surrounding my confirmation, however untrue, to become a purely political and partisan issue. The country we all love deserves that it be treated as an American issue.
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) August 2, 2019
Accordingly, I have asked the President to nominate someone other than me for this position.
— John Ratcliffe (@RepRatcliffe) August 2, 2019