"Recent reporting suggests that the CIA - more than Trump's other top intelligence advisors - continues to give the President unvarnished advice. And by yoking that advice to spectacular covert operative success (and probably a good deal of boasting to the press), the CIA seems to be building value with Trump and his stupider advisors (with the exception of the deliberately stupidest, Steve Witkoff)."
"Where Mr. Hegseth had marginalized his Ukraine-supporting generals, the C.I.A. director, Mr. Ratcliffe, had consistently protected his own officers' efforts for Ukraine. He kept the agency's presence in the country at full strength; funding for its programs there even increased. When Mr. Trump ordered the March aid freeze, the U.S. military rushed to shut down all intelligence sharing. But when Mr. Ratcliffe explained the risk facing C.I.A. officers in Ukraine, the White House allowed the agency to keep sharing intelligence about Russian threats inside Ukraine."
The CIA continued to provide direct, candid advice to the President and increased its influence by tying counsel to covert operational successes and public boasting. The agency preserved and even expanded its presence and funding in Ukraine, protecting officers and programs. When a March aid freeze prompted the U.S. military to curtail intelligence sharing, CIA leadership argued the officer risk and won permission to continue sharing intelligence on Russian threats. CIA analysts and officers helped craft a Ukrainian campaign focused on oil refineries, identifying specific couplers whose destruction would keep refineries offline for weeks and guiding precision drone targeting.
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