NEW: Trump’s new pick to lead ODNI, John Ratcliffe, caught the White House's attention as a vocal critic of the Russia probe.
But Ratcliffe has also worked closely with the man who's been on a 15-year campaign to expose Russian corruption: Bill Browder. politico.com/story/2019/07/…
But Ratcliffe has also worked closely with the man who's been on a 15-year campaign to expose Russian corruption: Bill Browder. politico.com/story/2019/07/…
Browder described Ratcliffe this morning as “a highly sophisticated guy” with “no illusions about Russia” who is “professional, capable, and deserves respect.”
"He understands what’s going on in Russia through the Magnitsky case," Browder told me.
"He understands what’s going on in Russia through the Magnitsky case," Browder told me.
Ratcliffe’s work w/Browder could represent a twist in the president’s desire to bring the intel community further under his control.
It also resurfaces one of the biggest subplots of the Russia probe: the Russians’ lobbying of Trump campaign officials to undo the Magnitsky Act.
It also resurfaces one of the biggest subplots of the Russia probe: the Russians’ lobbying of Trump campaign officials to undo the Magnitsky Act.
HOWEVER ... “There’s concern that a political crony of the president will squelch any evidence that the Russians are interfering” in 2020, says Jeremy Bash. “If the Russians interfere, can we count on an intelligence community led by Ratcliffe to call that out publicly?"
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