Trump to tap Coats as intelligence chief as briefing looms
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump prepared to nominate former Indiana senator Dan Coats as his own director of national intelligence, aides said Thursday, as the president-elect planned for a pivotal intelligence briefing.
Coats served two stints in the U.S. Senate, including experience on the Intelligence and Armed Services committees. An official familiar with the transition confirmed Coats' likely selection, speaking on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.
If confirmed by the Senate, Coats would replace James Clapper, one of the officials who will brief Trump Friday in New York City about hacking activities by Russia — and also someone who has pushed back on Trump's criticism of intelligence agencies over the Russia investigation.
The director of national intelligence leads the efforts of the nation's 17 intelligence agencies and oversees the coordination of information between various agencies. It was created in 2004 following the investigation into the causes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Coats news surfaced as Trump sought to peel back his skepticism of intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia sought to interfere in last year's presidential election by hacking emails from Democrats close to nominee Hillary Clinton.
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"The media lies to make it look like I am against 'Intelligence' when in fact I am a big fan!" Trump said during a tweet storm.
The president-elect also appeared to distance himself from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, whose organization released thousands of emails from Democratic Party officials in an apparent effort to undermine Clinton's candidacy.
Tweeted Trump: "The dishonest media likes saying that I am in Agreement with Julian Assange - wrong. I simply state what he states."
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Trump, who has questioned whether Russia was involved in the hackings, had tweeted Wednesday about Assange and emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta: "Julian Assange said 'a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta' - why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!"
The hackings will be the subject of Trump's classified briefing on Friday.
The U.S. intelligence community, the Obama administration and lawmakers from both parties have accused the Russians of engineering the hacks of Democratic Party officials, perhaps in an effort to help Trump win the election. Last week, the Obama administration levied sanctions on Russian intelligence officials over the hacking episode.
While Vice President-elect Mike Pence and other aides said Trump is expressing healthy skepticism of the findings, others say the president-elect has disparaged the intelligence community — a group that appears to include Clapper.
"I think there's a difference between skepticism and disparagement," Clapper told a Senate committee on Thursday
Clapper is scheduled to be joined Friday by CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey, among others. They will cover the findings of an intelligence community investigation on Russian involvement in the presidential election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the accusations, and claimed that American officials are trying to stir up anti-Russian feelings.
As Trump prepared for his briefing, aides disputed news reports that the incoming presidential administration is planning a major restructuring of intelligence agencies. They said the Trump team is only looking at ways to improve the system.
"The president-elect's top priority would be to ensure the safety of the American people and the security of the nation and he's committed to finding the best and most effective ways to do it," Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said.
As director of national intelligence, Coats would presumably be involved in any new plans.
A member of the U.S. House during the 1980s, Coats replaced Republican Dan Quayle in the Senate after the latter won election as vice president in 1988.
Coats first retired from the Senate in early 1999, and later served as ambassador to Germany. In 2010, Coats again sought and won a Senate seat. He decided against seeking re-election last year.
During his most recent Senate term, Coats backed sanctions against Russia after it annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine — and in 2014 became one of six members of Congress to be banned from entering Russia.
“As far as I know, I’m still banned from Russia,” Coats told the Indianapolis Star in December. “I’ve been there before and I don’t need to go back. Under this current Russian president, I’m not sure they’re willing to lift that.”
Contributing: Maureen Groppe
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