Okay, so it was more of a maybe, but former President Donald Trump did say he is "likely" to launch sweeping reforms of America's intelligence apparatus if reelected as president this November.
U.S. intelligence agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) could be on the chopping block if Americans reelect Trump to the White House this fall, which is prompting many of them to express fresh fears about what this might mean for their continuity.
According to Politico, which recently interviewed 18 intelligence officials about the matter, Trump's sort-of-promise to gut the intelligence establishment of all traitors could "undermine the credibility of American intelligence."
"Trump intends to go after the intelligence community," one former senior intelligence official complained. "He started that process before and he's going to do it again. Part of that process is to root out people and to punish people."
All intelligence workers who are "perceived as hostile to [Trump's] political agenda" are to be replaced with "inexperienced loyalists," is how Politico summarized the sentiments of the spooks it interviewed about the matter.
Two people specifically named as likely Trump targets are former acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell and aide Kash Patel, both of whom played a key role in declassifying information about the true origins of "Russiagate."
(Related: Businessmen who support Trump say they will no longer do business in New York following the recent civil ruling against the former president: "I'm shocked at this.")
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U.S. intelligence in shambles
Trump's "hostility" towards the intelligence community admittedly hinges from the infamous falsified documents claiming that Russia "interfered" in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to get Trump rather than Hillary Clinton elected.
Politico quoted former FBI official Andrew McCabe defending his decision to include the Steele Dossier in the mix, that dossier having been produced by a former British spy who was paid with cut-outs by the Clinton campaign to make it a reality.
The FBI quickly discovered that the dossier was a farce, but continued to use it as an excuse to spy on Trump and his campaign and presidency. When Trump later challenged this at the July 2017 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the spies involved in the scheme complained that "never before had a commander-in-chief so publicly delegitimized their work" – boo-hoo.
Even though all that spying by the intelligence community was illegal to begin with, meaning it never should have happened, intelligence spooks like former National Security Advisor John Bolton and top Russia adviser on the National Security Council Fiona Hill complained to Politico that Trump "wants to weaponize the intelligence community."
"If he guts the intel on one thing, he'll be partially blinding us," Hill moaned.
Other unnamed spooks and possible purging candidates should Trump win this fall complained as well that their "sources and methods" are threatened by another Trump presidency, not to mention the fact that most Americans no longer trust U.S. intelligence or its legitimacy.
Should Trump then proceed to appoint new "controversial" figures as replacements in U.S. intelligence, this could further prompt "competent" junior officials and staff to resign in protest.
"There are thousands of people busting their ass, often in dangerous places, sacrificing a lot for the country," complained Jon Darby, former director of operations at the National Security Agency (NSA). "And to have their work just dismissed by a commander in chief is really just discouraging."
Trump supporters say they are eager for the former president to clean house by "firing them all and starting over completely, with only one agency," is how one of them put it.
The latest news about Trump's re-run for the presidency in 2024 can be found at Trump.news.
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