The one man to steer each the FBI and the CIA urged warning to senators who would possibly vote to substantiate former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of nationwide intelligence and Kash Patel to steer the FBI, in accordance with a letter despatched to senators this week.
“I’m deeply involved in regards to the potential nominations of Mr. Kash Patel to steer the FBI and the inclusion of Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as DNI in intelligence roles,” William Webster, who led the FBI through the Carter and Reagan administrations and the CIA after that, mentioned in a letter to senators on Thursday.
On this Dec. 18, 2014, file picture, former FBI Director and Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) below Ronald Reagan, Choose William Webster is interviewed for a documentary about administrators of the CIA.
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Photos, FILE
Webster wrote that Patel’s loyalty to Trump might trigger issues.
“Statements resembling ‘He’s my intel man’ and his document of executing the president’s directives counsel a loyalty to people fairly than the rule of legislation — a harmful precedent for an company tasked with neutral enforcement of justice,” mentioned Webster, who turns 101 in March.
Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the FBI, speaks to reporters earlier than a gathering with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Dec. 12, 2024.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
He mentioned that in his tenure on the FBI, he was contacted by the president solely twice — as soon as by President Jimmy Carter, who requested him to research a problem, and as soon as when President Ronald Reagan had a query about Nancy Reagan’s safety.
Webster added that Gabbard’s “profound lack of intelligence expertise and the daunting activity of overseeing 18 disparate intelligence companies additional spotlight the necessity for seasoned management.”
“Historical past has proven us the hazards of compromising this independence. When leaders of those organizations change into too carefully aligned with political figures, public confidence erodes and our nation’s safety is jeopardized,” he wrote. “Each president deserves appointees they belief, however the choice course of should prioritize competence and independence to uphold the rule of legislation.”
The letter was first reported by Politico.
The Trump transition staff defended each Patel and Gabbard to Fox Information.
“Kash Patel is loyal to the Structure. He’s labored below Presidents Obama and Trump in key nationwide safety roles,” mentioned Alex Pfeiffer, a Trump transition staff spokesman.
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of Nationwide Intelligence, former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii, leaves a gathering with Sen. John Cornyn on the Hart Senate Workplace Constructing, Dec. 18, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
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Alexa Henning, a Trump transition official, additionally defended Gabbard.
“Lt. Col. Gabbard is an energetic member of the Military and has served within the navy for over 20 years and in Congress. As somebody who has consumed intelligence on the highest ranges, together with throughout wartime, she acknowledges the significance of partnerships with allies to make sure shut coordination to maintain the American folks secure,” she advised Fox Information.
