Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, speaks to the press about the findings of the House Select Committee on Benghazi. (Photo: AP)
CIA Director Mike Pompeo is also pushing back hard on a story published by the Wall Street Journal claiming officials are holding back intel from President Donald J. Trump.
“The CIA does not, has not, and will never hide intelligence from the president, period,” Director Pompeo said in a statement. “We are not aware of any instance when that has occurred.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that some cases intelligence officials decided not to tell the president their methods, or how they collected information. The paper, citing both former and current officials, said the decision to hold back certain information underscored the mistrust between the Executive Branch and spies.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which is not yet headed up by President Trump’s team, was the first to deny the story by the Wall Street Journal.
“Any suggestion that the U.S. intelligence community is withholding information and not providing the best possible intelligence to the President and his National Security team is not true,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Public Affairs Office said in a statement.
As PPD reported thursday, the Trump Administration asked Stephen Feinberg to lead a review of the U.S. intelligence community. Mr. Feinberg is the co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm. He has been asked to make recommendations on improvements to efficiency and coordination between the various intelligence agencies. However, the announcement will not be official until he completes an ethics review.
In the meantime, President Trump also asked FBI Director James Comey to investigate the leaks, which multiple reports indicate is a “disinformation campaign” to undermine his presidency.
“It appears to me there has been a concerted effort to try to discredit not only General Flynn, but obviously, the entire Trump administration through him,” D.W. Wilber, who has over 30 years of experience with the CIA and the Defense Department, told The Daily Caller. “He just happened to be the first scalp.”
