Presidential head of state phone calls guy here again. It’s been awhile.

And wow! The leaks of Presidential head of state calls continue under a new President. /1

reuters.com/world/exclusiv… Per @Reuters: “Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation.”

Listened to the audio?!? That’s new. /2

@nick_shapiro nails it here re @MichaelJMorell as poss @CIA Director. He’s someone who understands and advocates for analytic standards & integrity, who understands how intel should inform policy & not be weaponized or politicized. /1

https://twitter.com/nick_shapiro/status/1331698996067196929

@MichaelJMorell understands the limits of covert action & influence capabilities, legitimate tools of statecraft in any President’s toolbox. Made an “honor the oath” a hallmark of his past tenure as deputy. /3

Hi. Presidential head-of-state phone call guy here again. This is nuts. Let’s dissect. So, if he’s not involved, he’s not there to prep the President with expert advice from the interagency. /1

https://twitter.com/RudyMehrbani/status/1292472347807690754

If he’s not there during the call, he can never be sure what was said, agreed to, or promised by either side, nor can he offer impromptu assistance when something unexpected comes up. /2

When director of @CIA @GenMhayden hosted an intelligence director from a developing nation at Colonial Williamsburg. We gave the visitor a guided tour of the colonial capital of Virginia./1

https://twitter.com/hannah_natanson/status/1269323514802327553

As we toured the Virginia House of Burgesses, colonial seat of government, the guest asked us why the wall around it was so low. How did they protect the government from the people? /2

During my time at the White House Situation Room, it was normal practice for military officers to wear the more formal service uniforms when attending meetings there. They never would wear their less formal combat uniforms. /1 A search for images of Chm of the Joint Chiefs of Staff GEN Milley at the White House would suggest that this tradition continues today. /2

A few comments: 1) very unusual for a DNI to declassify these names w/o an external request. Despite his being an original classification authority, this declassification doesn’t seem in furtherance of his mission. /1

https://twitter.com/nakashimae/status/1260583944841498629

2) What his action does, and this may be the intent, is discourage officials from making unmasking requests, thus limiting their full understanding of the intelligence they read and negatively impacting their policy judgments. /2

So today we’ve learned it’s ok to conduct foreign policy while not in office, then to lie to the VP and others about that, setting yourself up for Russian blackmail. /1 We’ve learned that, despite a sworn oath to uphold the Constitution, its okay to lie to FBI agents conducting a counterintelligence investigation when questioned about that activity. /2

Quick take: John Ratcliffe gets an easy hearing from Senate Intel Committee. Said all the right things about truth to power, delivering inconvenient facts to the President, even at the risk to his job. but how does that stack vs years of slavish devotion to @realDonaldTrump? /1 Whiffed on the “deep state” question and on the President’s statements about coronavirus. Good discussion on Huawei 5G and need for US to win the technology war. /2

Tomorrow the Senate Intel Committee takes up the nomination of Rep John Ratcliffe of Texas to be Director of National Intelligence (@ODNIgov). Never has anyone more unqualified been formally nominated by a President to lead the US Intelligence Community. /1 But I'm going to surprise everyone and say, screw it--@SenatorBurr and @MarkWarner please confirm Ratcliffe and do it as quickly as possible! Because there's never been anyone less qualified to sit in the DNI's chair than the current acting DNI Ric Grenell. /2

This voice recognition software was introduced when I was director of the Situation Room. Off-the-shelf Dragon software is used but not against a recording of the call or of the actual call participants. /1

https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1176962399787724800

Instead one of the duty officers listening to the call live repeats what he/she hears into a microphone connected to a computer with the software installed. It is their voice that is used to create the transcript. /2

As senior director of the WH Situation Room, I managed POTUS head-of-state calls. So, what light can I shed on the Trump-promised phone transcript? /1 First off: unless this administration has changed procedures in place for many years, there are no WH tapes of this phone call. As I used to say, the WH became averse to taping Presidential phone calls in about 1974. /2

I ran the White House Situation Room a few years back. The use of unauthorized recording devices there is against regulation and potentially criminal activity. /1 The staff of the Situation Room takes its responsibility to preserve the security there very seriously. Procedures, training and technology guard against the use of unauthorized electronic devices. /2