PFAW Member, In true Trump form, he's trying to reward one of his loyal enablers with a position he's completely unqualified for – this time for the Director of National Intelligence post. An ardent supporter of Trump, Ratcliffe doesn't miss an opportunity to come to his defense, including embracing conspiracy theories about former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. During Mueller's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, Ratcliffe openly questioned the veracity of Mueller's findings, quickly becoming Trump's personal attack dog. Repeating the false assertion from many on the right that the Mueller investigation began as an attempt to prevent or end Trump's presidency, the announcement that Trump will nominate Ratcliffe has roiled many in Congress who are reluctant to even consider him for the job because he is so overtly political – which is not appropriate for the role of DNI – and because he is woefully unqualified, not even coming close to the extensive intelligence experience that’s explicitly required in the job description. Even some Republicans question Ratcliffe's credentials for the job, someone who has been known to over-exaggerate his career – particularly when it comes to his national defense and security expertise! Many also fear Ratcliffe would overpoliticize the intelligence community; at a time when our nation is especially vulnerable to ongoing election interference from foreign adversaries – a threat Trump prefers to dismiss outright. Perhaps it's because current DNI Dan Coats doesn't sugarcoat the findings of our national intelligence community, instead providing Trump with the unvarnished, nonpartisan findings from these agencies. But as you and I both know – Trump's view of the truth is only that which reinforces his own political narrative. Thank you, - Zach, PFAW
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