1. Republicans are going bananas. Democrats, led by senate intel vice-chairman Mark Warner are having fits and meltdowns.
All of it because President Trump announced the appointment of Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard at the end of the month as Acting DNI.
To make the issues even better, Democrats are now threatening to block FISA-702 reauthorization and stop the warrantless surveillance of American citizens unless Pulte’s appointment is withdrawn.
Yes, read that again slowly if needed – it’s perfect.
2. She couldn't get FISA reauthorization stopped by confronting congress, but she can get FISA reauthorization stopped by giving congress an alternative to herself. It's remarkable. Stunning.
..."Warner, who’s been critical in building Democratic support for a bipartisan deal to extend FISA Section 702, made clear to Thune that all options are on the table to reverse what Democrats see as a dangerous Trump pick to lead ODNI. Pulte, who currently leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has no national security experience and has used his existing role to exact revenge on Trump’s political foes.
From Warner’s perspective, it’s impossible to convince enough Democrats to support a reauthorization of Section 702 when Pulte would be the one overseeing the program. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also privately told senators that the Pulte appointment makes passing a FISA deal much more difficult."....
punchbowl.news/article/senate…
3. Making the issue even more wonderful, the former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is the primary strategist behind confronting the corrupt IC mechanisms that have always been facilitated by the same senate committee now having fits.
Seriously folks, you cannot make this stuff up.
If you think that Rubio and Tulsi are not the key voices in this appointment dynamic, you just are not paying attention to the snark from the National Security Advisor.
All those smiles and giggles are not just because they enjoy their jobs, but also because they understand the politics much better than people fathom.
This is a 14-year-senator, former Chairman of the SSCI and Gang-of-Eight member. Let's just say, he knows the gig.
4. There is a particular stupidity within Washington DC, a genuine blind spot they don’t even notice exists, when it comes to issues attached to the Intelligence Community.
I promise you folks; these IC people are genuinely ideological and not smart at all.
The bipartisan knuckleheads are so fraught with self-interest and the need for control, they cannot fathom how Bill Pulte would be elevated to Acting Director of National Intelligence just so existing Deputy Director Aaron Lucas doesn’t have to get bogged down in the quicksand of their insufferable bureaucracy.
Pulte can attend the meetings, summits, foreign ministerial gatherings, write the responses, go to the briefings, talk to the high-horse riders, and keep Aaron Lucas completely unencumbered to continue the work begun by DNI Tulsi Gabbard.
The Intelligence system in Washington DC controls much of the DC lawfare activity, and because DC is so territorial – filled with people who demand personal credit for everything that takes place, they have no concept that Pulte’s appointment might be something entirely different than the customary head of a silo they feel entitled to control.
Their field of vision does not extend beyond their feet.
The Intelligence Community in Washington, DC is filled with ideological stupid people. Trust me on this one; I made the mistake of giving them way more intellectual credit in the past than they deserve. Hanlon's Razor.
5. Democrats and Republicans threaten to withhold FISA-702 reauthorization, essentially blocking the 10,000+ govt workstations, from being able to conduct surveillance on American people.
The threat would terminate the NSA database portal that exists within the Perkins Coie DC lawfirm office.
The block would stop various FBI contractors from being able to search the database for electronic records of what their political opposition are doing.
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are threatening to block the govt function of looking at the private records of corporations, the private conversations, that permits them to position money in advance of mergers and acquisitions.
The emotional strategy to block Bill Pulte from Acting DNI, is to threaten to stop warrantless searches of American metadata. This is their threat.
Best DNI ever.
Aloha!
/END
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