Trumpist hack Richard Grenell, the dangerously inept ambassador to Germany, has something new to screw up: demagogue and Kremlin asset Donald "Tovarich" Trump is appointing him as the new acting Director of National Intelligence. In that job, Grenell will oversee the activities of our 17 intelligence agencies, agencies that Trump trusts less than his handler Vladimir Putin. He's in an acting position because Trump knows Grenell has no qualifications for the job, other than slavish loyalty to him, and that even the Rethug Senate would be likely to vote against his nomination.
The move has drawn criticism for putting an obvious hack in a position that traditionally has been filled by a seasoned intelligence official:
"One source close to Trump told CNN they were surprised by the pick, noting Grenell has zero intelligence-related experience.
And another Trump adviser described Grenell as 'out of his league' for the acting DNI job, adding that some in the administration are 'embarrassed by his behavior.' Previous holders of the DNI job have served in the intelligence community, the US Senate and senior levels of the military. Grenell, on the other hand, does not boast a resume with similar credentials despite his stint as the US ambassador to Germany. 'Everybody came into (the DNI job) with a relevant understanding, of which this guy has none,' said Bob Litt, former ODNI general counsel, who called the move 'extremely dangerous.'
'This is a President who has loathed and feared the (intelligence community) since before he was inaugurated and he views them as a deep state hostile to him seeking to undercut him and he'll seek to undercut them,' he said. 'Clearly the important thing here is the President feels Grenell will do his bidding.'" (our emphasis)We can imagine Grenell meddling in intelligence activities that are aimed at protecting the U.S. from Russian and other adversary nations' actions if it displeases his Dear Leader. If the intelligence community was reluctant before to share sensitive information with Trump's hostile team, this appointment will make matters far worse.
