Quantcast

CIA Director John Ratcliffe Outlines President Trump Expectations of Intel Community

An interesting interview between Maria Bartiromo and recently confirmed CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Within the interview Director Ratcliffe outlines the big picture instructions and direction he has received from President Trump during the second term in office.  In essence, the request from President Trump is for all of the IC silo heads to begin completely removing the elements of political manipulation from within the operations they are now going to lead.

To accomplish the goal, the ultimate goal, President Trump has instinctively told the incoming IC administrators to regain trust through transparency.  This approach is not only to regain the trust of the American people, but also -importantly- to regain the trust of President Trump’s office, which has -obviously- been targeted by the same IC silos the new cabinet members are charged to steer.  This is a critical approach. Do not filter information, just provide the sunlight upon the information as assembled.

In alignment with Vice-President JD Vance’s recent comments on the issue, Ratcliffe notes this was one of the primary reasons he quickly released the CIA assessment on the Wuhan Lab in China as the most likely origin of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic virus.  While it is far too early to tell how effective Ratcliffe (and others) might be in this new priority goal, at least Ratcliffe outlines the importance of it very well.  WATCH:

.

(more…)

Realignment – NSA Mike Waltz Suspends all National Security Council Detailees Pending Review and Reapplication

As CTH previously noted, much of the success in breaking up the Intelligence Community silo operations will fall on the shoulders of National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz.

In fact, the structure of the intelligence information system currently under construction in the Trump White House depends on Waltz successfully organizing the new system. {GO DEEP}

In following the roadmap for the optimal outcome, NSA Mike Waltz has suspended all aides to the National Security Council pending a review of their alignment with the Trump administration.  Again, a good and necessary move.

That said, Mike Waltz is likely to make a few mistakes along the road to a rapid reorganization and anyone who does not have trust issues given the nature of what we have witnessed within the IC manipulation of government, would not be honest.  However, Waltz is -so far- following a sequential process that will position the National Security Council for the optimal outcome.

The downside to these early moves is that the SSCI is watching this restructuring while simultaneously pending the nomination hearings of DNI Tulsi Gabbard who would also play a vital role in the information flow if the NSC is to get the best information to work with.  A historic review of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence shows they support the status quo IC and simultaneously hold power over the IC confirmation positions.

(more…)

Glenn Greenwald Gives Perspective on Tulsi Gabbard’s Changed Support for FISA-702

Glenn Greenwald follows the internal workings of the intelligence community apparatus in Washington DC very closely.

In this segment Greenwald accurately puts the changed position of Tulsi Gabbard into context and then outlines why he remains optimistic about her intent at ODNI while reluctantly accepting her likelihood to retain the acceptable baseline of the IC toward FISA-702.

The best-case scenario is that Tulsi Gabbard will retain 702 as a tool yet remove or stop how it is being unlawfully used.   Unfortunately, as Director of National Intelligence Gabbard will not have control over the day-to-day use of FISA-702, that job will fall on the shoulders of Pam Bondi.

The DOJ-National Security Division is the place where FISA authorities are deployed.  However, the use of the NSA database to conduct unlawful searches of American citizen metadata is the issue where Tulsi Gabbard could gain ammunition to change who has access.

Personally, given the change in position, the fallback position is to hope DNI Tulsi Gabbard moves to curtail the number of people with access to the database and provide demonstrable accountability for any unlawful use of it.

(more…)

Big Move: Speaker Johnson Removes Mike Turner from Chair of the House Intel Committee

One of Deep States’ Most Important Generals Removed!

We start this discussion with a note of thanks to the ridiculous democrats and republicans for using the questioning session for AG nominee Pam Bondi, to out themselves on the issue of FISA-702, the unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens. While many will not see it, the timing here is not coincidental.

At the behest of President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson has removed House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Chairman Mike Turner from his position.

Mike Turner is no longer Chairman of HPSCI. This is a big loss for the Deep State.

Remember also, that President Trump had previously announced an intelligence advisory board headed by Devin Nunes {SEE HERE}.

In addition to his manipulative support for Ukraine, in December of 2023 Chairman Turner lied about his FISA-702 renewal having support from Devin Nunes and John Ratcliffe {LINK}. Mike Turner was not aligned with the MAGA priorities of liberty.

ASSOCIATED PRESS – […] Johnson told reporters late Wednesday that Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, would no longer lead the committee, which oversees the nation’s intelligence agencies and holds tremendous influence over law enforcement and foreign policy. During Trump’s first term, the committee became a hotbed of partisanship as its powers were used to assist the then-president. Johnson last year also gave two Trump allies highly-sought spots on the panel.

Johnson said he made the decision to remove Turner because the “intelligence community and everything related to (the committee) needs a fresh start.” The Republican speaker, who has aligned himself closely with Trump, said he would soon announce the new chair for the committee. (link)

Mike Turner told CBS News’ Margaret Brennan that Johnson had cited “concerns from Mar-a-Lago” as the reason for the decision.

(more…)

THE Conversation Continues

We are not going to give up sharing generally hidden information and possible solutions just because it puts a target on our back.  We will continue this conversation because we deserve to have this conversation, and the understanding within it.  Additionally, we know that people who matter are watching this conversation.  So, to answer some questions:

♦ Q: “if you had a direct line to the DNI team, what would you move to accomplish in the first 90 days?”

A: The DNI can assemble material from any silo. Meaning the DNI can reach into any IC silo 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.

Almost every day an intelligence community overview assessment is compiled, it’s called the Presidential Daily Briefing or PDB.

The PDB contains content primarily produced by the CIA. However, in the modern era, the PDB is assembled and enhanced by adding information from other intelligence agencies (silos). The Director of National Intelligence assembles it; the position Tulsi Gabbard has recently been nominated for.

The DNI (now Tulsi) compiles the information, then delivers the PDB to the President, the National Security Advisor (now Mike Waltz) and the list of people assigned by the President to review it.

The PDB is the Intelligence Community (IC) telling the Office of the President, this is what’s going on. The PDB frames the worldview of the CIA and other agencies.

However, if the CIA/IC wants to frame policy and action to their agenda – and not to the agenda of the president/administration per se’ – the CIA/IC can shape the PDB information toward their own individual objectives. In the past several decades the CIA manipulation of the PDB became obvious.

(more…)

Jake Sullivan Gives White House Perspective When asked About Kash Patel

The operators inside the FBI silo are stunned about the announcement that Kash Patel “will serve as” the next FBI Director.  Conspicuously, their primary conduits for narrative pushback, The New York Times and Politico, are rather docile with only one article in each online publication.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was asked earlier today for a White House reaction to the announcement.  Here’s the short segment about that issue.  WATCH: 

.

“What makes the F.B.I. director different from most other nominees is they’re not just appointed for one term of a president,” Mr. Sullivan said. “They’re appointed for enough time to last past two terms of a president, because they’re supposed to be insulated from politics.” ~ Jake Sullivan

(more…)

Incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Outlines His Priorities for Trump Administration

There are a lot of interesting discussions and interviews amid the political chatter today.  It’s often difficult to filter which ones actually matter in the big picture.  This is one of those interviews’ worth watching.

Incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, brother-in-law to nominated U.S. Surgeon General Janette Nesheiwat and husband to former DNI policy chief Julia Nesheiwat, appears on Fox News to discuss his priorities for the national security system under President Donald Trump.

Within the interview Waltz makes sure the collective NATO “west” get the unity message about U.S-Ukraine policy: “Jake Sullivan and I have had discussions, we’ve met,” Waltz says in the interview. “For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity, that they can play one administration off the other — they are wrong. We are hand in glove. We are one team with the United States in this transition.”  WATCH:

Mike Waltz is married to Julia Nesheiwat, the sister of Surgeon General nominee Janette Nesheiwat.

Julia, who -like all other people who work in DC silos- has never taken a married name.  Julia Nesheiwat was born in Carmel, New York, in 1975 to Jordanian Christian immigrants and raised in Umatilla, Florida. She has a BA from Stetson University, an MA from Georgetown, and a PhD from Tokyo Tech.

Julia Nesheiwat became a military intelligence officer. She received the Bronze Star Medal during Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. She departed the military as captain.  Julia Nesheiwat served in several U.S. administrations. Under George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, she held senior national security and economic policy positions. Her most notable role was as Trump’s 10th Homeland Security Advisor from 2020 to 2021. Her Bush administration posts included State Department seniority and Office of the Director of National Intelligence Policy Chief.

Suffice to say their bedroom conversations are likely Intel Community shop talk.

(more…)

The Importance of The Next FBI Director

Many people are discussing who President Trump will appoint to two positions: (1) Director of the National Security Agency (NSA); and (2) The Director of the FBI.  Without actually realizing it, both of these positions are fundamentally tethered.

The NSA Director is the librarian of the Intelligence Community.  The NSA gathers, collects, intercepts and stores the metadata of every electronic transmission, including communication. The Director of the NSA is in charge of that massive responsibility to protect and guard the library.

The FBI Director is the chief customer of that library.  On the domestic investigative side, the intelligence side, and the counterintelligence side of all FBI operations, their access to exploit that metadata has become critical.  The urgency of that need underpins the motive to continue reauthorizing FISA-702. When we remove the pretending, 702 reauthorization means surveillance access without warrants for all American communication.

The Fourth Amendment has been destroyed by legislative permission, and a complete lack of accountability for violations of law.  Americans are no longer “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” and “reasonable cause” warrants are no longer needed.

It should not be too much to ask for an FBI Director who respects the Fourth Amendment. Alas, in the real world of the Patriot Act, pragmatically we are well aware that every sub-silo and contractor within the FBI toolbox has access to this unlimited surveillance library.

Perhaps unbeknownst to most, the people advising President Trump on his next FBI Director also hold a vested interest in making sure the nominated candidates for NSA and FBI will continue to allow exploitation.

I prefer an FBI Director who does not support FISA-702 warrantless searches of U.S. citizen data. Unfortunately, everyone in the orbit of President Trump providing the advice and recommending the candidates, do not hold the same view.  Not a single one.

(more…)

President Trump Confirms Selection of Representative Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor

President Trump has confirmed his intention to use Florida Rep (Daytona) Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor.

[Source]

Mike Waltz serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).

In the role of Nat Sec Advisor, Waltz would presumably represent the power of the president toward every element of the National Security apparatus and Intelligence Community.

The Nat Sec Advisor is a very powerful position, if used correctly.  The absolute power of the President toward the intelligence community in the executive branch is carried by the Nat Sec Advisor (NSA).  The NSA has the ability to reach into every silo and control every element of every decision therein.

The NSA organizes the finding memos which authorize all covert intelligence operations globally and domestically.  The NSA can shut down bad things in the IC, cancel black-op operations, and essentially hold omnipotent power within the executive branch over every aspect of the 17 intelligence agencies who operate therein.  The NSA can also determine what is, and what is not, a national security matter.

(more…)

The “Six Ways from Sunday” Problem

All information provided to the Office of the President comes from the “six ways from Sunday” group.

The Presidential Daily Briefing is constructed by the “six ways from Sunday” group.

The DNI position is legislatively the most powerful position in the IC, yet that authority has never been exploited thanks to a DC silo system in the control of the “six ways from Sunday” group.

Barack Obama quickly learned the risks within the “six ways from Sunday” silo process.  Obama subverted the “six ways from Sunday” control mechanisms brilliantly, he just ignored it and gave the info to everybody.

President Trump is vulnerable to a DC silo system that self-preserves and that almost no one understands.

The President of the United States looks out his window and sees and illusionary world created by the “six ways from Sunday” group.

The agenda of the “six ways from Sunday” group can only succeed if the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch are kept misinformed and isolated.

(more…)