Tag Archives: John Ratcliffe

The New York Times reports: An exchange between Representative Jimmy Gomez, Democrat of California, and John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, briefly devolved into a shouting match as Gomez asked witnesses whether or not “Pete Hegseth had been drinking before he leaked classified information.” “I think thats an offensive line of questioning — the answer’s no,” Ratcliffe shot back. During his …

CBS News reports: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe will return to Capitol Hill to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday as they face blistering criticism over a group chat in which top Trump officials discussed sensitive plans to strike targets in Yemen. Gabbard and Ratcliffe are set to appear alongside FBI Director …

The New York Times reports: The C.I.A. director John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday that intelligence sharing with Ukraine had been paused alongside military aid to pressure its government to cooperate with the Trump administration’s plans to end the country’s war with Russia. Speaking on Fox Business, Mr. Ratcliffe applauded the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement on Tuesday praising President Trump …

Bloomberg News reports: A group of 200 former national security officials urged congressional leaders to investigate the motive behind the Central Intelligence Agency’s buyout offers to staff, warning they were designed to “shape the workforce in a matter that prioritizes political loyalty.” In a letter sent Friday to the chair and ranking members of the Senate and House intelligence committees, …

NBC News reports: The CIA has offered so-called buyouts to its workforce, a CIA spokesperson said, the latest move by the Trump administration to overhaul and scale back the federal government. The offer of eight months of pay and benefits is similar to deferred resignation offers proposed to employees at other federal agencies. But at the CIA, some employees — …

The Washington Post reports: The CIA said Saturday that it now favors a Chinese laboratory leak as the mostly likely origin of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest development in the still-simmering debate over the virus and the nation’s response. Several other intelligence agencies continue to favor the natural-origin theory, and there is no evidence SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, …

USA Today reports: The Senate on Thursday easily confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, making him the second key player to join the new Republican administration’s national security and foreign policy team. Ratcliffe, who formerly served as director of national Intelligence in Trump’s first term, won on a 74-25 vote. The Senate confirmed …

Axios reports: The Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee cleared Kristi Noem to lead Department of Homeland Security with a vote of 13-2. It also approved Russell Vought for director of the Office of Management and Budget 8-7. The Intelligence panel voted 14-3 in favor of John Ratcliffe’s nomination to lead the CIA. Ratcliffe, a Trump loyalist, has faced accusations …

CNN reports: Donald Trump has chosen John Ratcliffe to serve as his CIA director, the president-elect announced in a statement Tuesday. Ratcliffe had been high on the list of potential attorney general candidates, sources told CNN. He is currently a co-chair at the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-linked think tank. Ratcliffe stayed in …

Mediaite reports: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe seemed to make the suggestion that Joe Biden won’t be president despite winning the 2020 Election over Donald Trump. On Sunday, Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo interviewed Ratcliffe and asked for his reaction to the people Biden has picked. After Bartiromo slammed Biden’s picks for their involvement with “the Russia hoax,” she asked …

Politico reports: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Tuesday declassified a Russian intelligence assessment that was previously rejected by Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee as having no factual basis, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The extraordinary disclosure, released to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) earlier Tuesday, rankled Democrats, who said the …

“When I went through confirmation, people watched that. They heard me make a couple of promises. One of them was to always follow the law. “The other was that I would do everything I could to protect the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, allowing people to leak it for political purposes. “The action that I announced yesterday is entirely consistent …

The Hill reports: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), acting chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said congressional oversight is facing a “historic crisis” after the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, notified Congress on Saturday that the intelligence community will be scaling back in-person congressional briefings on election security. “Congressional oversight of intelligence activities now faces a historic crisis,” Rubio said …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump has received harsh criticism after Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe informed Congress that the intelligence community would no longer hold briefing sessions on foreign election interference in the 2020 presidential campaign. Trump accused Democrats of “leaking” information on Russian’s interference in the 2020 election to help Trump. It is the united view of …

CNN reports: The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it’ll no longer be briefing on election security issues, a senior administration official told CNN. It’ll provide written updates, the official said. The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense …

CBS News reports: The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance Congressman John Ratcliffe’s nomination to be the next director of national intelligence (DNI) on Tuesday morning, setting the stage for a final confirmation vote by the full Senate. Ratcliffe’s nomination was approved behind closed doors along party lines in a vote of 8 to 7, with all Democrats voting against. …

Axios reports: Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), President’s Trump nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI), said at his confirmation hearing Tuesday that every government whistleblower should receive “every protection under the law.” As one of Trump’s fiercest defenders during the impeachment inquiry, Ratcliffe repeatedly sought to undermine the credibility of the Ukraine whistleblower, claiming without evidence that the complaint was …

The New York Times reports: The Senate on Tuesday will consider the nomination of Representative John Ratcliffe [photo], Republican of Texas, to be director of national intelligence, its first hearing since the coronavirus pandemic sent its members home a month ago. The 9:30 a.m. hearing will be unusual, with a measure of social distancing enforced. Few lawmakers normally choose to …

The Hill reports: President Trump has tapped Rep. John Ratcliffe to serve as his next Director of National Intelligence (DNI), reviving an appointment of the Texas Republican that previously derailed last year. Trump had initially appointed Ratcliffe to serve as his intelligence chief last July, but the Texas congressman withdrew from consideration weeks later amid media scrutiny that he padded …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump is revisiting the idea of nominating Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe to be the next Director of National Intelligence, two sources told CNN. Ratcliffe withdrew his name from consideration for the same job last year amid bipartisan concerns about his qualifications but the President now appears open to the idea of tapping him for the DNI …