Watch: Trump Defends Accomplishments, Attacks Media at Press Conference
Fractious relationship
Pillar said that while it would not be the first time there was “friction and ill will” between a president and the U.S. intelligence agencies, it was difficult to think of any precedence for the type of fractious relationship that has developed between Trump and members of the intelligence community.
“However much they have to hold their nose while doing their job, they’re going to do their job,” he said of the intelligence officers and analysts. But he warned concern about the president would linger.
“There are all kinds of doubts already,” Pillar cautioned. “We’ve passed that point long ago.”
Pillar and others say ongoing talk of the need to reform and possibly streamline the U.S. intelligence community is likely not helping. And officials say there has been talk of possibly bringing in an outsider to help, including private equity billionaire, Cerberus CEO Stephen Feinberg.
On Thursday, the president denied reports he was planning to bring in Feinberg to lead the charge, though he declined to completely rule out some role.
“I think that we are going to be able to straighten it out without using anybody else,” Trump said, adding Feinberg “is a very talented man, very successful man and he’s offered his services and it’s something we may take advantage of.”
Even if such an effort is not in the works for now, there are fears the administration may be embarking on a potentially dangerous path.
“They could politicize the way that the intelligence community does their jobs,” said Nada Bakos, a former CIA analyst and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
“They could silence portions of it that they don’t trust or feel are continuing to toe their view or ideology and amplify others that they think just agree with them,” Bakos said. “We’ve been down this road before and it gets us into a lot of trouble.”
Conflict over Russia
Yet even without a potential overhaul or reformation, other issues continue to eat away at the relationship between Trump and the country’s key intelligence agencies, none more so than Russia.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]“It’s not unusual for an administration to have tensions with the agency [CIA] or intelligence community over a specific incident,” former intelligence officer Patrick Skinner said. “It’s unheard of for there to be this kind of warfare not over an issue but an entire systemic long-running issue like Russia and disinformation.”
In a January 6 report, the U.S. intelligence community assessed with “high confidence” Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign designed to “to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process.” The report also concluded that during the presidential campaign, Russia developed a preference for then-candidate Trump and aspired to help him win.
Trump News Conference Further Muddies Relationship With US Intelligence Agencies added by Jeff Seldin | VOA on
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