Trump's top spy pick vows he won't politicise intelligence

Republican John Ratcliffe, President Donald Trump's pick to be the nation's top intelligence official, was nothing if not consistent as he told lawmakers a dozen or so times that he wouldn't allow politics to colour information he took to the president.

The senators kept asking anyway as Trump's firing or forcing out of at least seven top US intelligence officials since last summer overshadowed the Texas Republican's confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

The forced departures have left the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the nation's 16 spy agencies, without a single Senate-confirmed leader as the nation faces the COVID-19 pandemic, threats from Iran and North Korea, Russian disinformation campaigns to meddle in the US elections, and rising competition from China.

The turmoil has deepened speculation that the president is trying to place loyalists in charge of the nation's intelligence apparatus.

The senators' questions reflected that skepticism: Would you communicate intelligence to Trump even if you knew the president strongly disagreed with it? Of course, Ratcliffe replied.

Even if it put your job in jeopardy?
Ratcliffe added: Anyone's views on what they want the want intelligence to be will never impact the intelligence that I deliver. Never."
Unfortunately, what we have seen from the president, ever since he came into office, is an unrelenting and undeserved political attack upon the professional women and men of our intelligence agencies, Warner said. This is not because our intelligence community is deserving of these attacks. Nor are they at the heart of some 'deep state' conspiracy to undermine our political leaders."