Thread by @jseldin

Acting @ODNIgov chief @RichardGrenell shared the photo of the US Constitution w/the words "Signed permission slip to leave your house" on @instagram about an hour or so ago...then responds on @Twitter to @CNN's @MarquardtA re #COVID19 stay at home orders

https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1249775408486154245

Here's a look at @RichardGrenell's @instagram post from earlier

JUST IN: Asked about Acting DNI @RichardGrenell's Instagram post & whether it could be interpreted by some as possible encouragement to doubt or to disobey state & local stay-at-home orders, @ODNIgov responds, "He said his post means he’s a big fan of the Constitution"

Critical reaction to post by acting @ODNIgov Dir @RichardGrenell from a former senior @CIA official

"The post is very much out of character for an incumbent intelligence leader" per Paul Pillar, now w/@Georgetown

"The post will confirm to members of the intelligence community what had already been apparent: that Grenell was appointed not to be a serious intelligence executive but instead to be a kind of political emissary for Trump" per Pillar

Thoughts on @instagram post & tweet by acting @ODNIgov Dir @RichardGrenell from @LarryPfeifferDC, a former @CIA chief of staff & former White House Situation Room senior director

"It is unprecedented for a DNI to have an active Twitter account—we’re in uncharted territory"

"Grenell may argue that this is his personal Twitter account & that as a “fan of the Constitution” he has a right of free speech to say what he wants in that forum. He would be wrong" per @LarryPfeifferDC, who has been critical of @POTUS in the past

"It is a long-standing norm & expectation for employees in the Intelligence Community to remain apolitical in the public square—this is critical to intelligence avoiding accusation of politicization" per @LarryPfeifferDC

"Grenell acting as if these norms or practices do not apply to him—as this Tweet demonstrates—will prove corrosive to the [Intelligence] Community" per @LarryPfeifferDC