Acting US director of national intelligence began to fire dozens of US officials: Report

Dozens of intelligence officials got termination notices Thursday under Bill Pulte, the new acting director of national intelligence, MS NOW reported Friday, citing anonymous sources.

An intelligence official said that the administration is removing officials “who they believe are deep state.” According to the official, intelligence leaders claim those dismissed failed to provide complete intelligence assessments.

The firings follow Pulte’s removal last month of six political appointees who served under Tulsi Gabbard, the former Director of National Intelligence, the report said.

Four former senior intelligence officials told MS NOW they had never encountered intelligence officers withholding information from senior leaders.

“The premise is absurd,” one of the former officials said.

Another questioned how Pulte, who was named acting director despite lacking an intelligence background, could reach that conclusion so quickly. Pulte started the job on June 19, two weeks ago.

“I have a real question of how he would know this. This isn’t a guy who is familiar with intelligence,” said the former official. “How is he going to get to the bottom of this and rely on any information with a matter of fidelity? It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days.”

Former officials noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence does not collect intelligence itself but receives it from agencies including the CIA, National Security Agency (NSA), and others. They argued that CIA Director John Ratcliffe would be more likely to know if such withholding had occurred.

“If there really was any serious withholding of information, the guy who would know this is Ratcliffe,” said one of the former officials. “He and his analysts would be the first ones to know. If anyone would know about that alleged claim, it would be him.”

“The intelligence community is comprised of committed professionals,” the former official said. “This is a fantasy. It only hurts US national security, and it’s helpful to Russia, China, and Iran.”

The firings are reportedly happening despite warnings from top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, who sent a letter to Pulte on June 23 “warning him of the risks of making large cuts to the workforce,” according to CNN.

“We are concerned by reports that you intend to fire or place on leave hundreds of Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) officers,” Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes wrote in their letter.

“Given your lack of experience within the Intelligence Community, it is difficult to imagine that in such a short amount of time you have already developed fully informed views as to how to shrink ODNI without incurring risks to national security,” they wrote.

“Making significant structural changes to ODNI, to include a reduction in force, is not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity, let alone without consultation with Congress, and you should refrain from doing so.”