President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear could curtail their independence and reduce the flow of information that contradicts the president’s worldview.
The possible role for Stephen A. Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, has met fierce resistance among intelligence officials already on edge because of the criticism the intelligence community has received from Mr. Trump during the campaign and since he became president. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump blamed leaks from the intelligence community for the departure of Michael T. Flynn, his national security adviser, whose resignation he requested.
There has been no announcement of Mr. Feinberg’s job, which would be based in the White House, but he recently told his company’s shareholders that he is in discussions to join the Trump administration. He is a member of Mr. Trump’s economic advisory council.
Mr. Feinberg, who has close ties to Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, declined to comment on his possible position. The White House, which is still working out the details of the intelligence
Bringing Mr. Feinberg into the administration to conduct the review is seen as a way of injecting a Trump loyalist into a world the White House views with suspicion. But top intelligence officials fear that Mr. Feinberg is being groomed for a high position in one of the intelligence agencies.
On an array of issues — including the Iran nuclear deal, the utility of NATO, and how best to combat Islamist militancy — much of the information and analysis produced by American intelligence agencies contradicts the policy positions of the new administration.
Reports that Mr. Feinberg was under consideration to run the clandestine service rocked the intelligence community in recent weeks, raising the prospect of direct White House control over America’s spies at a time when Mr. Trump’s ties to Mr. Putin are under investigation by the F.B.I. and congressional committees.
The challenge is less immediate for Mr. Pompeo. He does not see an urgent need for a review of the intelligence community, according to current and former American officials, but sees it as better than the appointment of Mr. Feinberg to a job with actual authority over daily intelligence operations.
Before Mr. Flynn was forced out, one of his top aides, Robin Townley, was denied a security clearance by the C.I.A. But distrust of the intelligence community has been building for years in conservative political circles, where the C.I.A. during the Obama administration was seen as heavily politicized.
Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, said in a recent interview that some officials in the intelligence community were trustworthy but “not all.”
People there need to be rooted out,” Mr. King said.
Another Republican lawmaker said that the predominant view at the White House is also that the politicians in the intelligence agencies need to be cleaned out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/...n-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1
The possible role for Stephen A. Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, has met fierce resistance among intelligence officials already on edge because of the criticism the intelligence community has received from Mr. Trump during the campaign and since he became president. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump blamed leaks from the intelligence community for the departure of Michael T. Flynn, his national security adviser, whose resignation he requested.
There has been no announcement of Mr. Feinberg’s job, which would be based in the White House, but he recently told his company’s shareholders that he is in discussions to join the Trump administration. He is a member of Mr. Trump’s economic advisory council.
Mr. Feinberg, who has close ties to Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, declined to comment on his possible position. The White House, which is still working out the details of the intelligence
Bringing Mr. Feinberg into the administration to conduct the review is seen as a way of injecting a Trump loyalist into a world the White House views with suspicion. But top intelligence officials fear that Mr. Feinberg is being groomed for a high position in one of the intelligence agencies.
On an array of issues — including the Iran nuclear deal, the utility of NATO, and how best to combat Islamist militancy — much of the information and analysis produced by American intelligence agencies contradicts the policy positions of the new administration.
Reports that Mr. Feinberg was under consideration to run the clandestine service rocked the intelligence community in recent weeks, raising the prospect of direct White House control over America’s spies at a time when Mr. Trump’s ties to Mr. Putin are under investigation by the F.B.I. and congressional committees.
The challenge is less immediate for Mr. Pompeo. He does not see an urgent need for a review of the intelligence community, according to current and former American officials, but sees it as better than the appointment of Mr. Feinberg to a job with actual authority over daily intelligence operations.
Before Mr. Flynn was forced out, one of his top aides, Robin Townley, was denied a security clearance by the C.I.A. But distrust of the intelligence community has been building for years in conservative political circles, where the C.I.A. during the Obama administration was seen as heavily politicized.
Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, said in a recent interview that some officials in the intelligence community were trustworthy but “not all.”
People there need to be rooted out,” Mr. King said.
Another Republican lawmaker said that the predominant view at the White House is also that the politicians in the intelligence agencies need to be cleaned out.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/...n-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1
