Trump Names an Acting Spy Chief as No. 2 Intelligence Official Steps Down
By Charlie Savage and
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Thursday abruptly decided to install Joseph Maguire, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as the acting director of national intelligence after Dan Coats steps down from the post next week.
Mr. Trump announced his decision to elevate Mr. Maguire, a retired vice admiral who once led the Navy’s Special Warfare Command, on Twitter shortly after confirming that Sue Gordon, the nation’s No. 2 intelligence official — who by law had been in line to temporarily take over as director — would instead depart with Mr. Coats on Aug. 15.
Ms. Gordon, who served more than 30 years in intelligence posts at the C.I.A. and other agencies, informed Mr. Trump of her decision to retire in a letter on Thursday after it became clear that he would not permit her to rise to the position of acting director.
“As you ask a new leadership team to take the helm, I will resign my position,” she wrote, adding: “I am confident in what the intelligence community has accomplished, and what it is poised to do going forward. I have seen it in action first-hand for more than 30 years. Know that our people are our strength, and they will never fail you or the nation. You are in good hands.”
The sudden shuffle in the highest ranks of the intelligence community added to the turmoil since Mr. Trump announced on Twitter on July 28 that Mr. Coats would leave and that Representative John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican who is an outspoken supporter of the president, would be his nominee for the next director.
But last Friday, Mr. Trump dropped his plan to nominate Mr. Ratcliffe after it came to light that he had exaggerated his counterterrorism experience as a former federal prosecutor, and as concerns mounted among lawmakers of both parties that he lacked qualifications for the job.
In his initial Twitter announcement, Mr. Trump suggested that Ms. Gordon might not become the acting director until a new one was confirmed, notwithstanding the succession statute. The New York Times reported last Friday that the White House had decided not to let Ms. Gordon become the director, although she had not yet been formally informed of that choice, and that the administration had requested a list of other senior agency officials, a suggestion that it was searching for a different successor.
The signs of turmoil prompted lawmakers of both parties, including those leading the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senators Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, and Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, to issue strong expressions of support.
Mr. Burr called her departure “a significant loss” for the intelligence community.
“In more than three decades of public service, Sue earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues with her patriotism and vision,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “She has been a stalwart partner to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and I will miss her candor and deep knowledge of the issues. I look forward to seeing what new challenges she will tackle next.”
Representative Adam B. Schiff, a California Democrat who leads the House Intelligence Committee, portrayed the ousters as a “devastating loss” that threatened the intelligence community’s ability to provide independent analysis and judgment to policymakers.
“Gordon brought decades of experience and encyclopedic knowledge of the agencies to bear, and her absence will leave a great void,” he said. “These losses of leadership, coupled with a president determined to weed out anyone who may dare disagree, represent one of the most challenging moments for the intelligence community.”. . .
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"Trump Announces Shakeup At Top Of U.S. Intelligence" By Shane Harris Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post, 8 August 2019
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"Trump's Pick For Intelligence Director Is A Respected Special Operations Veteran" by Shane Harris Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post, 9 August 2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trumps-pick-for-intelligence-director-is-a-respected-special-operations-veteran/2019/08/09/f07b6f5e-bab1-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html?
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Copyright 2019 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved (no claim to The New York Times content)
"Trump's Pick For Intelligence Director Is A Respected Special Operations Veteran" by Shane Harris Ellen Nakashima, The Washington Post, 9 August 2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trumps-pick-for-intelligence-director-is-a-respected-special-operations-veteran/2019/08/09/f07b6f5e-bab1-11e9-b3b4-2bb69e8c4e39_story.html?
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Copyright 2019 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved (no claim to The New York Times content)
