Trump AGAIN Nominates Far Right Winger John Ratcliffe as Director of National Intelligence

In July 2019, we wrote at length about a sycophant becoming the Director of National Intelligence.  Trump had just nominated Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas).  However, a week latet Ratcliffe was dropped from consideration to be DNI in the face of reports that he misrepresented his record as a prosecutor in terrorism-related cases. 

NOW RATCLIFFE HAS BEEN NOMINATED AGAIN IN LATE FEBRUARY 2020.  

Trump said on Friday [2/28/20] that he intends to nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe, a Republican from Texas, as his permanent director of national intelligence, the second time Trump  has attempted to make the loyalist lawmaker his spy chief.

Ratcliffe had been nominated as Trump's DNI pick after Dan Coats stepped down from the post in July 2019, but the Texas congressman withdrew his name from consideration after lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about his qualifications.

Heritage proudly ranks Ratcliffe as second most conservative in the House.  He is a major critic of Mueller and Russia being investigated.  He as no intel background, is a former small town mayor and federal prosecutor.

Democrats immediately made it clear that they oppose the move.

"Replacing one highly partisan operative with another does nothing to keep our country safe. At a time when the Russians are interfering in our elections, we need a nonpartisan leader at the helm of the Intelligence Community who sees the world objectively and speaks truth to power, and unfortunately neither Acting Director Grenell nor Rep. Ratcliffe comes even close to that," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Friday.

One by one, day by day, Trump is taking steps to destroy America’s fact-based institutions, at the same time he eviscerates rule of law. 

The director of national intelligence serves as an overseer of the U.S. intelligence community and a close adviser to the president and National Security Council, producing each day's top-secret Presidential Daily Brief.  Trump has privately said he thinks the Office of the Director of National Intelligence represents an unnecessary bureaucratic layer and that he would like to get rid of it. He has been told that eliminating the ODNI is not politically possible, but he would still like to "downsize" the office....

The choice of Ratcliffe to be the new permanent director, and the earlier choice to install Grenell as acting director, further suggests Trump is looking for a loyalist to lead the intelligence services he has so often maligned during his presidency.

In the meantime, while Ratcliffe's nomination likely stalls out for months, Richard Grenell "leads" DNI as an acting director.  Even if there's no real chance that Ratcliffe will be confirmed by the Senate, the formal submission of his nomination will allow Grenell to continue to serve as Acting DNI past March 11 — and for another 210 days after Ratcliffe's rejection or withdrawal.

Trump on [2/19/20] named Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, as the next acting director of national intelligence, placing a fiercely loyal ally atop an intelligence structure he has frequently railed against.  The appointment took many in Washington, including on Capitol Hill, by surprise. Grenell, a former State Department official and communications executive, has been a Trump confidant and ad hoc adviser on issues beyond his ambassadorial work in Berlin.

Either you confirm an unqualified political loyalist for the job, or stall his nomination and leave a different unqualified political loyalist in the job.

Two people close to the situation said the White House believes Ratcliffe can be confirmed this time around. One theory floating around is that their case may have been bolstered by the temporary pick of Grenell as acting director -- because he's seen as such a provocative figure, they think senators may be more amenable to Ratcliffe in the role now.

Grenell and Racliffe, who politicize every issue and have utter contempt for facts, leading DNI would be a travesty.

Sen. Mark Warner: "The President has selected an individual without any intelligence experience to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community ... This is the second acting director the President has named ... apparently in an effort to sidestep the Senate."

Rep. Adam Schiff: "We now have an intelligence chief who should not have been fired, an unqualified nominee who should not be confirmed, and an acting director who is patently unfit. All while our elections are perilously at risk of foreign interference."

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/28/politics/john-ratcliffe-dni-nominate/index.html

http://smartdissent.com/article/trump-nominates-far-right-winger-john-ratcliffe-director-national