Another old acquaintance of Donald Trump to lead American espionage. The president-elect announced this Tuesday the appointment of John Ratcliffe, 59, as director of the National Intelligence Agency, the CIA. He worked in the first Trump Administration as director of National Intelligence, a position to which he was appointed in 2020, when he left his seat in Congress, where he represented the State of Texas and behaved as one of its most conservative members.
In a message released by the transition team, Trump celebrated Ratcliffe’s career, noting the moments in which he did something for the new president, in further proof that loyalty is the virtue that is guiding him most in the construction of the team that will accompany him on his return to the White House.
“He has always been a warrior of Truth and Honesty with the American public,” states the text, in which the Republican cites Ratcliffe’s role in “exposing [durante el primer impeachment contra Trump] false Russian interference as an operation of the campaign [su oponente en 2016 Hillary] Clinton”; its critical role with a national security program, called FISA, which allows the surveillance of foreign agents and which was used in 2020 to spy on an aide to the still president’s campaign; and for attacking those who questioned the accusation against Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, built from the contents of a laptop that he left in a computer repair store.
“For these and many other reasons, it was my great honor in 2020 to award John the National Security Medal, the nation’s highest honor for distinguished achievement in the field of Intelligence and National Security,” Trump continued. That year, he also got Ratcliffe confirmed for the position of director of National Intelligence at the second opportunity, after he gave up trying in 2019 when doubts arose about his experience for the position and suspicions that he had embellished his resume by exaggerating his work. in terrorism and immigration cases when Ratcliffe was a prosecutor in Texas.
Trump believes that “he will be a fearless fighter for the constitutional rights of all Americans, while ensuring the highest levels of national security and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” [las mayúsculas son suyas]”.
During his first term four years ago, Ratcliffe disclosed unverified information about Russia’s influence in the 2016 presidential election, sparking criticism from the US intelligence community. They also accused him of using the weapons of the State to politically help his boss achieve re-election. When the Republicans lost in November and the president and his followers insisted on spreading the hoax of Democratic theft, Ratcliffe told Trump and his followers that there was no evidence of foreign electoral interference; nor of widespread fraud.
