The agency responsible for overseeing the U.S. intelligence community insists a major shake-up and effort to downsize is “not an effort to purge.”
Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany selected last month to serve as acting director of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, has faced opposition from Democrats who claim he was picked for his loyalty to President Trump. He has been a forceful advocate for U.S. interests in strengthening NATO and countering Russia as ambassador. Since taking on the new role on Feb. 20, he has embarked on a weekslong effort to end what he views as redundant efforts carried out by the ODNI, aiming to shift some power back to the other spy agencies and to refocus the ODNI, and has done so while bringing in new leadership.
“Acting DNI Grenell has emphasized with ODNI leadership this review is not an effort to purge, as some have erroneously suggested,” Amanda Schoch, the assistant DNI for strategic communications, told the Washington Examiner. “The goal is to make sure scarce Intelligence Community resources are used in the best way possible.”
She said that “there have been four studies over the past 24 months that have identified opportunities to refocus or transfer activities at ODNI to eliminate duplication of work with other agencies” and “these important findings were never fully implemented despite a thoughtful and thorough process.”
Schoch revealed that Grenell and his team are working on “a careful review of these studies completed prior to his arrival, with an eye to implementing key recommendations.” And “while the review is underway,” she said, Grenell has asked for “a temporary, short-term pause in external hiring.”
More details will be revealed once the specifics of the review are finalized.
A similar hiring pause was implemented in 2018 during ODNI’s 100-day “Transformation” effort under then-Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Grenell has faced criticism from many Democrats since being selected for the temporary spy chief role.
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Trump “has selected an individual without any intelligence experience” and “now more than ever our country needs a Senate-confirmed intelligence director who will provide the best intelligence and analysis, regardless of whether or not it’s expedient for the President who has appointed him.”
The acting spy chief himself has largely stayed out of the spotlight since taking on the role, although he has occasionally weighed in on Twitter.
This week, Grenell criticized China’s attempts to portray itself as a global leader in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, tweeting that “the one who started the fire should never be praised for acting like a firefighter later.”
Michael McFaul, who served as ambassador to Russia under former President Barack Obama, tweeted back at him that “at this time of crisis, the one who is charge of our entire intelligence community should not have the time or inclination to be tweeting right now about anything, let alone about policy issues.”
“Completely disagree,” Grenell said. “When China pushes propaganda, US officials must speak out clearly. Asking US officials to stay silent is odd. Social media is how we communicate with the public. I’ll keep doing it.”
Grenell’s reform effort at the ODNI comes amid some other leadership shake-ups at the lead spy agency.
Russell Travers, who had been the acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center since Grenell’s predecessor Joseph Maguire left to assume the role of acting director of national intelligence, retired after more than 40 years of government service. Grenell denied a report claiming Travers was fired.
“We are grateful for acting Director Russ Travers’s many years of service to the American people. Russ told acting Director Grenell he wanted to retire and that he did not want another assignment,” Schoch said last week.
This week, the ODNI announced Grenell selected Lora Shiao, a longtime counterterrorism intelligence veteran, to be the NCTC’s next deputy director, noting she will serve as the the center’s first female director until the confirmation of a permanent director. That will likely be Christopher Miller, a Pentagon counterterrorism leader whom Trump said he would pick for the post.
Additionally, Clare Linkins, who has also spent years in the counterterrorism arena, will serve as NCTC’s next executive director.
“Acting DNI Grenell is excited and proud to promote Lora and Clare to these critical positions, where they will lead the nation’s efforts to counter terrorism,” Schoch said earlier this week. “Lora and Clare are both NCTC veterans, with more than 25 years of combined experience at the Center.”
The selection of Shiao and Linkins comes a few weeks after National Security Council staffer Kash Patel, who previously served as an aide to the House Intelligence Committee’s Devin Nunes, was appointed to be a senior adviser for Grenell.
Patel was a primary author of a Republican memo released in early 2018 on alleged Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses against Carter Page, a member of the Trump 2016 campaign. The Justice Department inspector general report said there were at least 17 “significant errors or omissions” in the Page FISA applications, and the Justice Department determined that at least two of the four orders targeting Page were not valid.
Patel later became the senior counterterrorism director for the National Security Council and got wrapped up into the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation. He denied being a back channel to Trump on Ukraine and filed a $25 million libel lawsuit over reporting that claimed he was feeding Trump information about Ukraine. Patel also criticized House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, tying him to the leaks from the closed-door impeachment hearings.
The ODNI also pushed back this month against claims that the intelligence community had concluded that Russia was actively trying to help Trump win reelection and made it clear that “this is not a Russia-only problem.”
A few weeks ago, Trump renominated Rep. John Ratcliffe to take over as permanent director of national intelligence. Trump initially nominated Ratcliffe to replace Coats as the director last summer, but the congressman withdrew within days after some senators questioned his credentials.
He has been a key inquisitor for Republicans in Congress, including getting FBI Director Christopher Wray to agree that Page was surveilled illegally. Ratcliffe said he is “absolutely” qualified and that his “different kind of experience” makes him a strong candidate for Trump’s top intelligence official.
