I have been requested to update and revisit my outline from summer 2024 when I discussed the potential for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), a position now occupied by DNI Tulsi Gabbard. As a new White House strategy begins to surface, perhaps revisiting what is possible will provide a perspective not often discussed.
Confronting a weaponized Intelligence Community is of great interest, because it is a component battle against the main tools of the Fourth Branch of Government. The IC influence is in every policy related to Trump’s domestic and foreign agenda. Taking control and neutering the capabilities of the IC and CIA specifically, is an important undertaking.
Again, as I originally noted in 2024, “This is going to be a little odd, because factually almost no one knows what the position of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is about.” Sometimes you have to wait until people reach a point of frustration, when they turn around and say, “Hey, about that thing”…
The ODNI was created as an outcome of the 9-11 Commission recommendations. In the era shortly after 9/11, the DC national security apparatus was constructed to preserve continuity of government and simultaneously view all Americans as potential threats.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) were created specifically for this purpose.
Washington DC created the modern national security apparatus immediately and hurriedly after 9/11/01. DHS came along in 2002, and within the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 the ODNI was formed.
When Barack Obama and Eric Holder arrived a few years later, those newly formed institutions were viewed as opportunities to create a very specific national security apparatus that would focus almost exclusively against their political opposition.
Here is the weird part. The ODNI was formed in 2004, with the intent for the office to be the pivot point of a national security radar. The DNI was intended to provide information to domestic agencies about foreign terror networks that would prevent something like 9-11 from happening again. However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has never, not for one day, operated on this intent. This is why they are such a critical position from my perspective.
The office was new, not established yet as a functioning silo, when Barack Obama and Eric Holder arrived in 2009. They quickly dispatched an idiot, James Clapper, into the operation so they could weaponize around the office’s fulcrum point.
Prior to the DNI office existing, the CIA radar would sweep externally and then report to the Office of the President. The DNI was intended to take external radar sweep (CIA) and make it a full 360° circle, adding a sweep inside the USA that would be handled by the Dept of Homeland Security.
The DHS sweep and the CIA sweep would then be combined into a central collection hub called the ODNI. Everyone with responsibility for “national security” could access the ODNI material. Essentially, and presumably, post 9-11 nothing like jihadists practicing flying airplanes would be missed again – at least that was the intent.
The weird part is, because the DNI was immediately weaponized the office has never functioned to the purpose of its intent.
No one truly knows what the office possibilities consist of, because no one has ever seen anyone try to functionally control the hub. If you think I’m joking about the intent of Obama and John Brennan using the DNI watch this video. This is before Brennan became CIA Director; this is when Brennan was helping Barack Obama put the pillars into place.
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For the intents of this outline, the takeaway is how the DNI office has never been used for good. In a strategic way, that can be used to our advantage if you are talking about leveraging information/intelligence silos against each other.
Example: The DNI can assemble material from any silo. Meaning the DNI can reach into any IC agency and extract anything they want. Under the original authorities given to the DNI, this authority exists. So, let’s spread the wings on this office and do exactly what it is permitted to do, only this time extract for the purpose of showing the President what is happening in every silo.
In essence, the DNI *CAN BE* deployed like a super strong cross-silo inspector general’s office. Force the other IC agencies to comply with the demands of the DNI. This has never been done. But the DNI has this unique power.
The DNI can make the FBI, DOJ, DOJ-NSD, NSA, DoD, DoS and CIA provide anything and everything they demand. Instead of the other silos using blocks and threats against the office of the President, use the authority of the DNI to get them without confrontation. Then, use the DNI to declassify the documents (if requested or authorized by POTUS), instead of the originating silo.
Can you see how the DNI office can be repurposed to be a seriously strong weapon in the toolbox of the President, against the schemes of those inside the various IC silos. The DNI could become much more important than the CIA Director, NSA Director, FBI Director, Attorney General, etc, because the DNI can just show up and say, “Give me this.” That’s the whole functional purpose of the DNI office that has never been exerted; let’s flippin’ use it.
Let’s use the office of the DNI as the central information hub that takes information from inside the corrupt agencies, then provides that information to the President who puts sunlight upon it. Each corrupt silo penetrated with disinfectant. This could begin a process to pull down the shadow operations and let the American public see what has been happening inside our IC apparatus.
To accomplish this approach the National Security Advisor to the President would be one person who could tell the DNI exactly what they are looking for. Or the President can give directions specifically.
Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio is now in control of the National Security Council (NSC), and he has begun stripping down the extraneous noise, duplicated personnel and refocused the group on core objectives.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in a rather fortuitous position as Nat Sec Advisor, because he was the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI).
We have outlined the dubious nature of the SSCI for over a decade; however, as a participant in that silo system and as a gang of eight member within the intelligence apparatus, Rubio has a very unique understanding of what the IC does behind the scenes.
If President Trump empowers Rubio to monitor the IC system, in combination with DNI Tulsi Gabbard as a partner in the objective, that is a very powerful White House balance against the IC pressure directly from the office of the President.
Rubio monitoring the intelligence apparatus with specific intent, then providing Trump with details on what appears to be happening and where. With the approval of the President, the NSA (Rubio) then turns to the DNI and says, “POTUS wants to drill down on this.”
Raw, unfiltered, unredacted information. The silo administrators end up in a fight with the ODNI, not the office of President Trump. President Trump then uses the power of his office to support the demands of DNI Tulsi Gabbard and National Security Advisor Rubio.
Under this approach DNI Tulsi Gabbard has a lot more power; yet, funnily, it is power the office already had – yet have never utilized.
If you look at the geopolitical world and events unfolding through the prism of this Trump strategy against the IC meddling, suddenly things start to make sense.
As former chair of the SSCI, Marco Rubio knows exactly how all of these IC elements intersect and operate. As a former intelligence Gang of Eight member, Rubio knows how U.S. intelligence information is shaped and weaponized. If my suspicions are accurate on this dynamic, we are likely to see the worst elements of the intelligence apparatus unload vicious attacks toward Marco Rubio.
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IF Vance chooses Marco as his running mate, the attacks from Deep State will intensify
I believe JD will pick Don Jr to be his running mate or possibly Vivek.
Honestly tho I think it’s going to be Don Jr .🤷♂️
Then I believe Don Jr will pick Vivek. We’ll see tho that’s just me assuming and we all know what that can lead to.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤷♂️
It has to be Don Jr. Who would want to throw away all those “Trump 2028” hats? History, however, would indicate that it will be Vance at the top with Noem, Rubio or a strong Governor, like Glenn Youngkin, who could help bring VA back to the Republicans.
Younkin, ask Virginians what they think of this loser.
Youngkin is a deceptiCON and has been one since he started his run for Governor. People just don’t do even a minimal level of vetting.
Yungkin won’t win POTUS but he will spend a lot of money, including his own, in a failed run. And the CONsultants hovering around him won’t tell him they are there just to feed off his wealth. Shed no tears for Youngkin, he more than deserves what is coming.
Vice President, under Vance, not President! Btw, I understand Youngkin was Trump’s second choice for VP in 2024.
Where ever you heard that, I assure you that is not true. Youngkin’s people push all sorts of BS.
Trump boosted Youngkin even at the RNC convention (which I attended) because Youngkin promised he was going to deliver Virginia for Trump. Didn’t happen. Youngkin put in little effort and even frustrated the Trump campaign’s NOVA efforts. Youngkin pushing Sears to replace him was the knife in Trump’s back. She is an unrepentant never-Trumper.
Don’t push Youngkin hopium around Virginians who know the truth. He is not popular and could bomb out by the 2028 primary.
Its interesting that “LefttheGOP” is the only one on this thread to bring up Youngkin. He displays the same high-flying worshipful tone you’d expect from a paid influencer. All praise with no substance. Sadly, we are expecting a lot of this BS from Youngkin’s crew leading up to Iowa.
Youngkin?! “a strong Governor”?? You are woefully ill informed. I’m in VA and Youngkin has broken ALL of his promises. He is straight up uniparty globalist. You have fallen for the manufactured hype.
Same with Don Jr. He is a light-weight and has little to qualify him for higher elected office.
Stop drinking down the propaganda.
He’s been extremely supportive of the President since his election. You live in a blue state with all the bureaucrats. What do you expect??
You don’t live in Virginia, do you. “extremely supportive” What BS. Prove it. Provide links.
Agreed.
“Strong governor”? Are you kidding?
It can’t be Vivek. They are from the same state (Ohio), which is a Constitutional no-no.
Unwise but not unconstitutional. Read the 12th Amendment. Besides, Slick Vik has not cleared up his father’s naturalization status.
Why are you so sure it’s going to be Vance? I’m not feeling the love there.
It will never be Don Jr. as VP. He’s blown it in too many ways. His personal life? He leaves his wife (she may have left him but then the question is why does a woman with five children leave her millionaire husband?) and takes up with a line of women who, let’s just say, have been around the block a bit too much and it shows. I know PDJT has a history but he is the one who made the money, he is not the “playboy son” born with a silver spoon. Don Jr. could have overcome all of this but his recent behavior doesn’t make him look serious.
I am thinking Rubio and Gabbard.
Junior and his full siblings are not NBC.
Ivana was not a citizen when she bore them?
God help us then.
Oh, NO. Disaster. Don Jr. is NOT up to that task. There’s a reason he doesn’t run the Trump Org.
If he picks Rubio he’ll be sacrificing a great deal for a RINO. I see him as another Pence.
My gut feeling is that Vance will not run and Rubio will be the next President. I love JD but every time he says “you guys” I cringe.. I think Rubio is stronger.
I don’t think Marco has the strength of character to survive the swamp if he runs. He does well under the strong hand of P. Trump, but he is NOT a person of strong character, and is weak on his own. He is too prone to flattery, etc to be strong enough.
I don’t get it. Why the speculation on this? There is so much to be focused on the here and now, you are just a distraction. It boggles my mind. That will not matter or come yo past if we don’t get addressed the critical issues of today. Tomorrow is wishful thinking if we don’t get today right.
Exactly!
Marco is now intervening at the scotus…..writing brief….
He should just show up with a sign that reads, “Article II, Section 1”!
I’d say Clapper and Biden were on parity back in the Obama days, two bumbling imbeciles easily controlled when a given task exceeded holding down a chair
It’s strange that after presidential elections, Americans can only file lawsuits against each other, as the whole of government swings hard left to right, black to white, up and down, while we all hang on for dear life, there is little to no continuity of government and that is a threat to our democracy as much as anything else, that and Republicans letting the Dems drive the bus.
Oh we’ve had plenty of continuity up to this year.
It’s been the Continuity of Corruption.
re: “as the whole of government swings hard left to right”
Ahhhh … one who buys into (was sold into by the MSM) the left-right paradigm …
The way I see it is – the crazies vs the normies. If you haven’t looked into the dem party ‘platform’, or witnessed their latest ‘crazy’ pursuits and causes, then you have NOT been reading The Conservative Treehouse …
That is so true. Crazies vs the normies. Its also globalists vs. populists. But left vs right is so last century.
How ’bout Dem&Repub’e vs MAGA. cut through the Kabuki theater
Iff we accept your premise, then there’s nothing strange about it. These last elections have been a proxy war: the globalists/ IC and its leeches and pawns vs. nationalists / MAGA. The status quo Dem vs. R has been a shell game to keep us thinking there wasn’t a uniparty.
The outcome is far from decided.
Dispense with the “our democracy” cr*p. Please!
REPUBLIC, NOT “DEMOCRACY”.
“In the era shortly after 9/11, the DC national security apparatus was constructed to preserve continuity of government and simultaneously view all Americans as potential threats.”
When you create a new weapon you should also be prepared for the possibility of it being turned around and used against you. And with that, DNI Tulsi Gabbard is the weapon, all American’s weapon, the national security apparatus now faces. Right back at ya, guys!
Yes and once that precedent is set, when the dims get back in power, it will be used against us. Let’s enjoy the few years we have.
Maybe the republicans should ask why they ultimately lose power and give it back to the Dems. In Trump’s first term, republicans had 2 years of control and gave that away, with the House under Pelosi (2019-2023) the Dems were running the show and feckless republicans did nothing.
And not much is happening that Trump isn’t doing himself, congress has only sent the president 6 bills to sign into law. Congress is hoping DOGE will go the way of Sen Tom Coleman and Sen Rand Paul, nowhere.
House republicans are going to spend house analyzing the Biden administration, instead of reforming election integrity laws, which is another reason they lose control to the left.
It’s complete BS that the third and fourth years of a republican term has to swing back to a militant Jeffries type in the House, I’m counting on (at a minimum), 16 more years of republican dominance in the government, after Trump.
re: “Maybe the republicans should ask why they ultimately lose power”
We already have the answer; The repubs, most ‘party’ members are actually ‘dem lgiht’, and fear being beat-up by the press if they toe anything but the dem-light line.
Its called then ‘battered wife syndrome’ for a reason …
I really dont think that concept is correct however that is how they portrait it. Follow the $$$$$$ they are all being bought for a very low sum truly a bunch of scum. Spend a million to get in then sell out for the first 110 thou that comes up now they Gotcha by the short hairs.
It’s called COWARDICE.
The R’s didn’t lose power. They handed it back to the D’s ona silver platter and by agreement to thwart any potential change PDJT could have solidified. All the while they positioned themselves to whine that they can’t accomplish anything while in the minority-including helping MAGA agenda. They went even further in 2020 and assisted the D’s by blocking any review of an obviously fraudulent election, right down to assisting in the illegal incarceration of those who peacefully protested.
Does the house or senate have to flip in the midterms? No, but for most of the entrenched incumbents it’s just business as usual- a shell game.
Until you are ready to understand that it is the republican/dems versus the MAGA/Populists then you are barely seeing how our “representative” wing of the government is aligned.
R vs D is theatre. They have never had a real threat to them until the Tea Party (destroyed) and on a much much greater level PDJT and MAGA showed up.
Love that almost any member of the cabinet could be thought of as a potential Presidential candidate.
And they all just keep getting better under President Trump’s tutelage.
Team of total WINNERS.
DJT has built a very, very deep bench – young, prepared, articulate and dedicated to our success!
Now, if we can only rid ourselves of the self-serving, underhanded, diabolical RINOs…..
It’s a simple concept successful businessmen have employed for years – delegating authority.
“– delegating authority.”
The key to success is to delegate, not abdicate.
Delegating turns into abdicating when the is no follow up or accountability.
That’s the recipe of a bankrupt business of failed state. This is exactly what happened in the USA.
You didn’t answer the question.
Everyone is always either growing or regressing. Comfort is the enemy of growth.
PDJT is growing, learning, becoming more effective. Leadership starts with an imperfect leader and imperfect people — no matter how carefully you selected. PDJT had limited tools and experience in selecting people from among a pool of imposters the first term. It has not been much better second term, but PDJT is a different man.
So is Rubio, Vance, Miller, Gabbard, Lake, DeSantis (to pick somewhat random names). We have all changed. But those following the North Star of Truth planted by our Creator – imperfect as we may be in following – are discernable. Life does that, those who are warriors for Truth are visible in their consistency, and in the direction they change as they grow. If we are still with God, our spirit and His Spirit in us will tell us who is a guerilla for Truth. We will become one.
We are all not the same was we were then. How we grow is important. We are each one as important as our Lion PDJT and as our Lord and Lamb Jesus Christ. Not because we earn it, but because HE Created us and deems it so.
Sundance’s greatest call for action to us are a collection of simple Truths. Trust your gut; Get right with God; seek what is right; cultivate the relationships around you.
I pray for God’s power to separate good from evil here in our sacred Nation. Help us to grow in our faith and submission to you. To Sundance, the wolverines on the perimeter, and the Treepers here on the branches — I am grateful for your fellowship.
Amen!
“Give me this…” assumes you are even aware of what “THIS” is. It’s too easy to hide stuff.
Perhaps you are assuming that that PDJT and his team are not smart enough to figure that out beforehand.
Oh, they’ll attempt to thwart or hide the “this”. Expect those who do so to be fired when possible or reassigned. If government functionaries are scared for their jobs (as the media keeps claiming they are) that’s excellent. Welcome to the real world where you do the job how and when you’re told to, or there are real life consequences.
This article is a Glimmer Of Hope in the void. The Not A Patriot Act needs to be used to strangle these Anti American embeds in these godawful Agencies and then it needs repealed. Otherwise these clowns are going to get us killed.
If centralizing control over the entire intel network is a Good Thing under President Trump, what happens if the Collectivists get hold of the DNI office? Remember who was really controlling the Soviet Union. His name was Lavrentiy Beria.
The leftists already attempted it. One of the most valuable flaws in the demonically driven left is self promotion and hatred. They don’t just hate their opponents-they hate everyone.
The Soviet Union was a 3-way system: Party, military, security services; with the Party always in control by aligning with the military to rein in the security services or with the security services to rein in the military. After the war, the military had ascended to great heights among the people so Stalin (the Party) used Beria (the security services) to reduce the military’s influence. Within six months after Stalin’s death in 1953, Khrushchev, Stalin’s “Mr Fix-it” in the Party, with support from the military (Zhukov and PVO generals), reduced the security services influence by arresting and executing Beria. This ebb and flow of influence between the military and security services was orchestrated by the Party. The rise in 1982 of Andropov from the security services to Party chairman was an early sign of the demise of the 3-way system, the growing weakness of the Party, and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.
I’ve been impressed with Rubio, but as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) was he not involved in making personnel (confirmation) decisions that had the effect of protecting the silo system? Can’t help but wonder about this. Is he to be trusted? Since when?
Involved?
It was a voting situation – all the rest of them against him and Devin Nunes.
Stacked.
The primary thing that he and Devin could do was watch and learn.
They did both.
Here’s two equally horrible options. Vote.
Involved? Hell, he ran cover for Mark Warner. Warner broke the law and Rubio was okay with that.
The fact that Clapper and Brennan among others are not wearing orange jump suits behind bars for multiple treasonous crimes tells me we are currently living in a banana republic. Anyone who thinks otherwise is pretending.
True and flawless justice will come, but not in this life. Until then, I also would love to see more of it, but maybe that’s a distraction from more critical things that must be done?
I would rather enjoy seeing the justice instead of God having to mete it out. God also has lots of other work to do. WE created this mess we are in so WE should fix it. God would approve I am sure.
Glad to hear you say that. Rubio came to be despised in FL. I think he would have been primaried in 2028. P. Trump rescued him. He’s doing fine here, but he needs a strong hand and is, deep down, a weakling.
I’ve read your reporting on this subject over the years and always left confused. Today’s explanation was very understandable. Maybe it was an accumulative AHA moment but I think it was just a simple well written approach. Thanks Sundance.
SD, how does Ms. Sheila Thomas, Executive Director, at the NSA fit into Trump’s administration?
Sheila Thomas is a left leaning stooge supported by THE HILL ,a digital newspaper supporting leftist views
under vake reason it os a newspaper. There is no way to take issue with these disingenuous people.
Why the President appointed her in any position of authority is beyond me. The “Gateway Pundit “has a program that will curtail the IC and their secret silos obstructing The President every step of the way. Now they will have an insider to pass info back to the IC. Why take a chance ? Teli Tulsi to dump Thomas ASAP.
Speaking of combinations…..I heard on the Michael Berry show last week (out of Houston) that the plan in 2016 was to have Ted Cruz as top banana with Marco as VP. Marco wasn’t real keen because HE wanted to be top dog. Anyway, the election was stolen, Marco saw that Cruz was about as exciting as a wet noodle, got his act in gear and got firmly behind TRUMP
And speaking of Cruz, why have we not heard from him with all his constitutional expertise going up against these judges and their over reaching rulings. Why?? You’d think he could sho ot them down in a second, but no. Crickets.
He’s a coward with a big mouth and a weak spine. He should have been impeached for running for Prez, when he KNEW HE WASNT ELIGIBLE!
When the ax was about to fall for that, what did he do? Exactly what Bammy did, SEALED HIS PARENTS’ RECORDS.
A craven coward.
Rubio is doing well under Trump’s guidance, and I’m glad for it and I wish him continued success at it. Trusting him is another matter.
Dare I say it?
We were lucky that Brennan was chosen for his Ideology rather than his room temperature IQ.
Meritocracy is kryptonite for a marxist construct.
How much does Devin Nunez have his hand in this also behind the scenes?
Just remember Rubio was a keystone member of the Senate’s intelligence committee for over a decade. A noted RINO. He has the spine of a weathervane. In my book he ranks up there with Bondi, I have seen no evidence to contradict this thus far. DeSantis on the other hand has demonstrated incredible leadership. Most of the Trump team is excellent to outstanding with the exception of Bondi. I withhold judgement on Rubio but have seen little to alter my view given his past record.
You said: DeSantis “has demonstrated incredible leadership”???
I am shocked that anyone here could hold that position.
DeSantis has made it clear that he will never make it on the national scene. Apparently, he has been competent as Florida governor but that’s as far as he goes.
His judgment vis a vis PDJT and MAGA has been poor. He killed his career with poor decisions trying to run in 2024, listening to donors when he should have listened to MAGA. He’s not unlike Ted Cruz in that respect. I am not sure if it is intelligence or clumsiness. I think he is just clumsy.
DeSantis is a conniving, lying, dumbass coward, and DANGEROUS, because folks outside of FL still think he’s great.
If you’re on Subsack, go find Kat’s Meow, from Kat Stansell. You’ll get the full truth from her, and the excellent Kris Jurski from The People’s Audit.
He’s a snake.
I am not convinced that Rubio isn’t an IC plant, so I remain skeptical about the ODNI being independent enough to just demand any info in the silos. If what he/she is searching for must be provided by the individual IC, such as the FBI, wouldn’t the entire IC know immediately whether to alter the information before it reaches the ODNI desk, or even Rubio’s desk? So, a long term skeptic about Marco Rubio would be averse to Marco being able to get his hands on ODNI data before anyone else. Call me paranoid, but one thing I know is that the IC has had a long time to come up with counter measures to any information President Trump may want or need. I smell the feint odor of bad fish again.
Not to overwork the metaphor to far, and I do get that this is the gist of what SD’s driving at in this article, but the ‘360° radar sweep’ analogy aught to be modified, in the context of a weaponized, adversarial IC, to obtain the complete picture:… – Rather than a 360° sweep comprised of two 180° sectors – foreign intel and domestic intel – the present situation requires a full-circle sweep comprising *Three* sectors (of 120° each, if you like) – foreign intel, domestic intel *AND* intra-IC intel…
…- As I said above, I get that collection of this ‘3rd sector’ intel is precisely what SD is advocating here, but he is *Necessarily* talking about *Documents*: – Agency-generated intel product, intra-/inter-agency administrative/bureaucratic paperwork, and the like. To be sure, the latter would presumably include a veritable treasure trove of comms – memos, emails, texts and call logs/transcripts (if indeed they could be got unredacted/unerased) – and indeed there is a goodly amount one could reasonably infer from such documentation regarding IC objectives, agendas and intent…
…- Were I President Trump, NSA Rubio and DNI Gabbard however, I would also want *In-Depth* and *Comprehensive* HUMINT, SIGINT and IMINT on the IC’s internal goings-on, in order to fully round-out that ‘3rd sector’ of the proverbial 360° radar sweep… – *Every* spook sewing-circle and kaffeeklatch gossip sesh/shop talk/policy setting get-together, *Every* clandestine ‘business lunch’, or round of golf, or meet up at the kids’ little-league game. *Every* Public/Private sector spook conference, seminar, junket or other related pow-wow (USAID-spawned NGOs, anyone?), plus anything else concievable that I haven’t even thought of here…
…- *Get All Of It*. *EVERYTHING*…
…- Mind you, I’m ‘paranoid’ like that… 😉
OUTSTANDING IDEA! And prudent, too.
Pray that Tulsi and Marco exercise the power(s) their agencies have to bury the deep state and protect the Office of the President so he can actually govern!
Great article, Sundance!
My attitude is that Rubio doesn’t want to be a puppet and he understands that torching the IC lets him be autonomous.
Very, very astute ideas, Sundance.
ODNI and Marco should be pulling all the skeletons of every District court judge and remind them who the boss is right now. They are Dems, they all have big, ugly skeletons. Is this ethical behavior? No, but there is a lot at stake and little time. Besides, they do this to others in a heart beat.