@POTUS44 Special Asst & @NSC44 Spox. @CIA before. Now direct policy/comms @NatSecAction & teach @Georgetown. Aspiring public servant again.
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Jun 11, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Ratcliffe is proving himself to be a slightly more polished version of former Acting DNI Grenell. No Twitter trolling (yet), but he's up to the same shenanigans to attempt to validate Trump's baseless conspiracy theories -- even if they are similarly failing.
First -- and least importantly -- he appears to get the date wrong in his cover letter to the Hill. The ICA was dated January 6, 2017, not December 30. (The ICA notes that information used in it was current as of December 29, 2016.) A seemingly careless error.
May 20, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Why is the administration unwilling to release the Flynn-Kislyak transcripts? The fact of the conversations is well known, their contents have been widely reported, and the admin has been happy to declassify other docs.
There’s clearly something they wish to keep hidden here.
Could it be that the transcripts show that Flynn was acting at Trump’s direction when he asked Moscow not to retaliate? That’s the cleanest explanation for why Flynn felt the need to lie to the FBI — to protect his boss. And it’d also explain Trump’s undying loyalty to him.
May 13, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Now we know why Grenell declassified the doc — so it could leak. The upshot is that Americans now know the identities of the public servants whose alarm at Flynn’s actions compelled them to request his identity, a practice that’s available to intel / policymakers for good reason.
Grenell also provided the document to Senators Grassley & Johnson, who are leading the "Hunter Biden probe." This isn't a coincidence. This is nothing less than the Acting DNI providing national security records as chum in order to help Rs muddy the waters.politico.com/news/2020/03/0…
May 4, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Why does it matter that Trump doesn't actually read his PDB?
First, it's THE vehicle to convey what intelligence professionals think the President NEEDS to know. It's what our entire system of analysis is built around. All 17 intel agencies can--and do--write for the President.
There's an extraordinarily high threshold for the PDB; only the most important issues will make it and usually only after all relevant intelligence agencies have coordinated on the draft. If it's in "the book," it's necessary and usually urgent for the President to see.
Feb 10, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Dear Mr. Attorney General,
Thank you for your kind offer to submit relevant information regarding corruption. You'll find my submission below along with more examples here: nationalsecurityaction.org/newsroom/trump…
Sincerely,
Ned Price
PS: None of it is from Ukrainian sources, so all good!
According to Rudy Giuliani, Trump discussed building a Trump Tower in Moscow during his 2016 campaign (which he later falsely denied), while advancing pro-Russia positions. nytimes.com/2019/01/20/us/…
Dec 13, 2019 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
This '18 tweet is getting renewed attention, and while I know the 1st rule of Twitter is ‘don’t feed the trolls,’ I can’t resist. It's an issue I care deeply about -- the broader theme is at the center of a class I teach -- and the IG report underscores a conversation is overdue.
First, I hope I'll be forgiven if I have trouble taking seriously the current pearl-clutching from those who have over the course of years — if not decades — defended and even advocated for expansive surveillance and other national security programs.
Sep 19, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Of all the nightmare scenarios that could constitute an “urgent, credible” whistleblower complaint from within the intelligence community, a Trump “promise” to a foreign leader has to be among the most alarming. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Apropos of nothing, this July 31 Trump-Putin phone call, which Trump initiated ostensibly to offer assistance for wildfires in Siberia, has never made sense to me. Also, California was burning at the time, and Trump barely lifted a finger.
.@nytimes reports Trump committed to designate the Brotherhood after hearing from the Egyptian President. How many times have we seen Trump gullibly do—or try to do—something brash, reckless, & dangerous at the urging of a foreign counterpart?
THREAD: Paul Whelan's release must be a priority, but a 1-for-1 swap for Maria Butina would set a dangerous precedent. There are creative, strategic ways to avoid it, including a model from 2014, which the Trump administration would be wise to consider. (I won't hold my breath).
First, the danger. Swapping Whelan for Butina, who has pleaded guilty to the charges she faces as a Russian agent, would signal to Moscow that any private US citizen is fair game to extract the release of its own agents. All Americans in Russia would be placed in harm's way.
Dec 26, 2018 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
THREAD: If past is prologue, Trump will use this belated troop visit to deflect from the rhetorical bodyslam his own SecDef delivered to him & his worldview last week. The record shows Trump has consistently used our military as a prop for his personal and political advantage:
As a candidate, Trump took aim at one of our most storied military heroes, John McCain, claiming he liked those "who weren't captured." politico.com/story/2015/07/…
Aug 28, 2018 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
This raises lots of questions, but also the possibility the Trump administration is furnishing highly confidential personal information of public-servants-turned-Democratic-candidates to their political opponents. Have to get to the bottom of this. nyti.ms/2MVzfNK
The @CLFSuperPAC obtained an UNREDACTED version of @SpanbergerVA07’s SF86, a highly confidential personal document never released to the public. Not even her SSN was blacked out. Either the Trump administration provided it, or a foreign adversary did.
We cannot shrug this off.
Apr 20, 2018 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
It seems apparent from reliable sources that Mike Pompeo did NOT serve in the first Gulf War, but nearly half of his public bios--including his Wikipedia page--and contemporary write-ups claim he did. Is this something he's been content to leave uncorrected?
A quick sample:
His Wikipedia page claims he served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the 4th Infantry Division in the Gulf War. But other sources suggest only the 1st and 4th Squadrons served in that conflict.
Mar 1, 2018 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Mixing America's national interest with Kushner's personal interest is bad enough in the context of U.S. companies, but it's downright dangerous when it comes to foreign entities. That hasn't stopped Jared, though. 1/ nytimes.com/2018/02/28/bus…
A week after Trump's victory, Kushner met w the Chair of China's Anbang Bank to discuss a deal that would infuse more than $400 million in Chinese cash into Kushner's distressed 666 5th Avenue property. It fell apart only after it became public. 2/ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Nov 7, 2017 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
<THREAD> Remember when CIA Director Pompeo was considered one of the admin's “adults"? Turns out he's more than just a hack; he’s dangerous.
The latest evidence—a doozy—is @theintercept's rpt revealing he met with Bill Binney, apparently at Trump’s urging. theintercept.com/2017/11/07/dnc…
Nov 1, 2017 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
<THREAD> @CIA released what it claims are the final public files from Bin Laden’s lair. I’m all for transparency, but this isn’t about that.
In Jan, DNI, which led the declassification effort, released what it said was the final tranche of Bin Laden files. icontherecord.tumblr.com/post/156086067…
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