Trump taps John Ratcliffe to replace Coats as US spy chief

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would nominate Representative John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican who strongly defended him at a recent congressional hearing, to replace Dan Coats as the spy chief of the United States.

Coats, the current US director of national intelligence, has clashed with Trump over assessments involving Russia and Iran. He is scheduled to step down on Aug 15, the president said as he announced his decision on Twitter.

"John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves," Trump said, thanking Coats "for his great service to our Country" and saying an acting director will be named shortly.

The post of director of national intelligence, created after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, oversees the 17 US civilian and military intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency.

Ratcliffe, a member of the House of Representatives intelligence and judiciary committees, defended Trump during former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony on Wednesday about his twoyear investigation of the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Ratcliffe also accused Mueller of exceeding his authority in the report's extensive discussion of potential obstruction of justice by Trump after the special counsel decided not to draw a conclusion on whether Trump committed a crime.

The congressman agreed that Trump was not above the law, but said the president should not be "below the law" either.

A former US attorney and mayor of Heath, Texas, a Dallas suburb, Ratcliffe has also worked at a law firm run by former attorney-general John Ashcroft, a Missouri conservative.

Ratcliffe joined Congress in 2015 and some Republican Party leaders had pushed for him to be named US attorney general last year after Trump ousted Jeff Sessions from that role.

The congressman helped lead a congressional investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's use of private e-mail servers and former FBI director James Comey's decision not to recommend criminal charges against her.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, criticized Trump's choice, saying: "It's clear that Representative Ratcliffe was selected because he exhibited blind loyalty to President Trump with his demagogic questioning of... Mueller.

"If Senate Republicans elevate such a partisan player to a position that requires intelligence expertise and nonpartisanship, it would be a big mistake," Schumer said.

In his letter of resignation, seen by Reuters, Coats said he had agreed in February to a request by Trump that he stay on and believed the US intelligence community has the capabilities needed to protect the country, including "to address threats against our elections".

"The Intelligence Community is stronger than ever, and increasingly well prepared to meet new challenges and opportunities. As a result, I now believe it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life," he wrote.

Coats will join a long list of senior officials to leave the administration since Trump took office in January 2017, either through resignation or firing. The list includes a defense secretary, attorney-general, two national security advisers, a secretary of state, an FBI director, numerous top White House officials and assorted other Cabinet members.

Reuters

(China Daily 07/30/2019 page12)