US President Donald Trump has tapped Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to be the new Director of National Intelligence, pending Senate confirmation. Ratcliffe had bowed out of the nomination last summer.
The surprise announcement, praising Ratcliffe as “an outstanding man of great talent,” came on Friday afternoon as Trump departed Washington for a campaign rally in South Carolina.
I am pleased to announce the nomination of @RepRatcliffe (Congressman John Ratcliffe) to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Would have completed process earlier, but John wanted to wait until after IG Report was finished. John is an outstanding man of great talent!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
By way of explanation, Trump said he “would have completed [the] process earlier, but John wanted to wait until after [the] IG Report was finished.” This is a reference to the Justice Department’s inspector-general, who in December delivered his account of the probe into claims of Trump’s “Russian collusion” by the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Source: RT