A lot might be said, but little of it will be grounded in reality. Here’s a general outline that may provide context for the next few weeks.
First, contrary to popular opinion, leaks from inside the IC related to activity within the ODNI will likely come as an outcome from bad actors in the FBI and the attached liaison office. {EXAMPLE HERE} As you may or may not be aware, every intelligence community silo has a liaison attached to the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
What that means is that every IC agency has a person(s) inside the ODNI that can then be the source of information within the larger parent silo. The most frequent leaking child from within the parent agency is the FBI liaison. Understand this reality and you begin to understand frustration around Kash Patel’s inability to control his agency.
Second, contrary to popular opinion, CIA Director John Ratcliffe will not be able to partner with Acting DNI Pulte in the same direct manner he was with fully confirmed DNI Tulsi Gabbard. Despite the ODNI technically sitting atop the CIA within the construct of the overall Intelligence Community, there are rules about information flows to non-confirmed “acting” positions. Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas will have more intelligence capabilities than Pulte.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe will likely not be the source of conversation about this standard, the information to Pulte will likely come from the DNI Legal Counsel Jack Dever, and/or Deputy CIA Director Michael Ellis who also carries the role of General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency.
When SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner says he is in communication with IC leadership about isolating Acting DNI Bill Pulte from national security information, he is likely outlining contact with the general counsel of the DNI or CIA, or with the Intelligence Community Inspector General’s office. That said, the National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, could mitigate some of that isolation by requesting IC information Pulte may desire to review.
Regarding ‘declassification’ authority. CTH is not sure what power an Acting position as DNI carries as it relates to independent cross-silo declassification authority. However, information presented to the President can be declassified by the President. The key is to get the silo stakeholder to approve the release, then take to the Office of the President for approved public release pending stakeholder redactions.
That is the basic outline of limitations that could become pertinent. However, the Acting DNI can do something very valuable. The ADNI can ‘manage’ the office and how it operates. Pulte can make staffing decisions as well as curb the issues within the liaison offices.
I somewhat predict that Pulte could find the problem with FBI leaking; he could even do something about it – with presidential support. Unfortunately, this would put Pulte on a collision course with FBI Director Kash Patel.
It’s an issue that needs to be dealt with, but the timing is not good considering the looming midterm election.
A more likely scenario is Kash Patel’s unchecked deep state FBI analysts/agents will be managed without Patel’s direct involvement. Essentially, none of the ‘good guys’, and there ain’t that many ‘good guys’, have any trust in the FBI silo.
The entire DC system is fully aware of the corrupt nature of the FBI as it functions.
The ‘establishment’, including Mark Warner and Tom Cotton, is favorable to the FBI. Meanwhile, the ‘reformers’, and I suspect that might include HPSCI Chairman Rick Crawford, are not.
The larger IC elements will watch this play out, dropping their thumbs on the narrative (via selected leaking) as it pertains to their individual interests. There’s a reason why scrutiny against Patel has lessened from within the DC mechanisms.
Ironically, all the negative information against Pulte will almost certainly come from the FBI, it will just be positioned as if it comes from another silo. Watch carefully and we just might catch them in real time.
Ultimately, all of the bad actors within the IC (both branches of government) want “702” reauthorized, so this does create a subject that can be leveraged for actionable value to the office of the President.
All of that said, Pulte remains an unknown entity within the larger IC system, and his motives and intentions are generally also unknown. It will be interesting to watch things unfold, and to see exactly who is willing to surface as an ally.
Yeah, that!
Interesting.
Let’s go Sundance!
Damocles….indeed. There’s so little light in this tunnel.
The appointment of Pulte is strategically designed to facilitate the reduction of the ODNI workforce without the hurdles of confirming a permanent director who might resist such cuts. President Trump has explicitly tasked Pulte with “gutting” the agency to its bare minimum before a permanent nominee is confirmed.
Presently Ratcliffe holds increased sway over national security matters in ODNI’s current form.
I thought gutting the ODNI was something Tom Cotton was pushing not to long ago. It was postulated that his position was to significantly reduce the ability of the agency to damage his buddies in the IC. At least, this is what I recall.
If that’s the case, why would POTUS want this?
Cotton wants to gut the DNI power….not the workforce.
The fewer the permanent staff in the ODNI, the easier it is to exercise the DNI’s actual authorities.
And who is the FBI liaison to the office of ODNI ? An unlisted internal operational assignment how convenient.
Thanks Sundance be well stay safe much love and appreciation
I think Trump has asked Pulte to make cuts to ODNI staff.
I believe acting DNI Ric Grendel did declassifications.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2020/05/26/ric-grenell-hits-senator-mark-warner-with-sunlight-hammer-as-he-exits-role-as-dni/
Probably why the Senate and IC are in active coup mode against Trump and Pulte.
And the Senate can always confirm the new SDNY guy, pass the Save Act and Trump would let them confirm the new DNI and sign the FISA renewal. Easy Peasy.
But they’d rather not.
The SSCI wants to control the IC (an Executive branch function). We saw this in the first term, in an attempt to remove 45 from office. Various elements in the IC cozy up to the SSCI to curry favor and funding. Most elected folks have plenty of skeletons in the closet that they’d rather not have exposed. So some of them are fearful – and that becomes apparent in their unhinged public statements. It’s a dysfunctional relationship.
Pulte doesn’t need to be an “intelligence professional” any more than the head of HHS has to be a doctor or a social worker, as long as there are trustworthy lieutenants under him. He wasn’t hired to do analysis or hone his tradecraft.
The challenge is to find trustworthy people.
Here’s hoping Bill Pulte uses his other physical office to stay out of the clutches of the various IC liasons
Thank you for my daily Treehouse Daily Brief™ (TDB).
So much evil.
God help Acting Director Pulte do his job.
The mere fact he is a hammer that President Trump can use is worth it. Nothing like seeing the gatekeepers sweating. Evidently they don’t like the gate swinging inside their domain.
Only in the Treehouse can you get both Mickey flipping everyone off…and gif scenes from Cicero.
Just the best!!
All of these potential machinations are just more reason for massive job reductions in all the agencies. If there are not the people there to conduct the mischief, the mischief is dramatically reduced with little effort needed.
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