"Throughout Donald Trump's first term, his third campaign, and the first 10 months of his second term in office, he and his allies warned darkly of a "deep state" seeking to thwart his every move. In an address to the National Conservatism Conference in September, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that "leaders in the intelligence community"-the massive bureaucracy she runs-are among the "traitors to the Constitution" who have tried to undermine the president because they oppose his policies."
"But these attacks have generated real action: Gabbard has revoked security clearances of supposed Trump opponents by the dozen and fired high-ranking staff while the Justice Department busies itself with dismissing civil servants and prosecuting the president's enemies. Now Gabbard's agency, which coordinates among the different elements of the intelligence community, is advocating for legislation that would transfer significant authority over counterintelligence to her office and away from an FBI that her staff has portrayed as the home of a traitorous deep state."
"Counterintelligence, the work of catching foreign spies, has long been the FBI's bailiwick, and the bureau is vehemently opposed to the transfer. But Gabbard's office seems to believe that the FBI's Counterintelligence Division is irredeemably politicized-which is to say anti-Trump. The contours of this turf war are illustrated in a memo with comments from the National Security Council, the FBI, and Gabbard's office that we have reviewed and that is circulating"
Warnings about a "deep state" persisted across Trump's terms and campaigns, with DNI Tulsi Gabbard accusing intelligence leaders of being "traitors to the Constitution." Gabbard revoked security clearances, dismissed staff, and the Justice Department moved to remove civil servants and prosecute opponents. Gabbard's office is promoting legislation, introduced by Representative Rick Crawford and placed in the annual intelligence authorization bill, to designate ODNI as the lead counterintelligence agency and shift significant authority away from the FBI. The FBI strongly opposes the proposal, while Gabbard's staff portrays the bureau's Counterintelligence Division as politicized and anti-Trump. A circulating memo from the NSC, FBI, and ODNI highlights the turf dispute.
Read at The Atlantic
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