Barr's ability to declassify could put at risk a CIA informant close to Vladimir Putin (NYT)

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/us/politics/trump-barr-declassify-intelligence.html

Barr’s Newfound Power Could Prompt Clash Between Justice Dept. and C.I.A.
By David E. Sanger
May 24, 2019

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s order allowing Attorney General William P. Barr to declassify any intelligence that sparked the opening of the Russia investigation sets up a potential confrontation with the C.I.A., including over the possible implications for a person close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia who provided information to the C.I.A. about his involvement in Moscow’s 2016 election interference.

The concern about the source, who is believed to be still alive, is one of several issues raised by Mr. Trump’s decision to use the intelligence to pursue his political enemies. It has also prompted fears from former national security officials and Democratic lawmakers that other sources or methods of intelligence gathering — among the government’s most closely held secrets — could be made public, not because of leaks to the news media that the administration denounces, but because the president has determined it suits his political purposes.

Mr. Trump granted Mr. Barr’s request for sweeping new authorities to conduct his review of how the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia were investigated. The president ordered the C.I.A. and the other intelligence agencies to cooperate, granting Mr. Barr the authority to unilaterally declassify their documents and thus significant leverage over the intelligence community.

Intelligence officials have feared before that their findings were being twisted to political agendas — notably concerns during the run-up to the Iraq war that information about Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction was being cherry-picked to justify combat. But Mr. Trump’s decision is different.

It allows Mr. Barr, who has used the charged term “spying” to describe efforts to investigate the Trump campaign, sole discretion to declassify the intelligence behind the F.B.I.’s decision to begin investigating whether any Trump aides or associates were working with the Russians. It also raises the specter that officials ranging from the F.B.I. to the C.I.A. to the National Security Agency, which was monitoring Russian officials, will be questioned about their sources and their intent.

The order could be tremendously damaging to the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies, drying up sources and inhibiting their ability to gather intelligence, said Representative Adam Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

“The president now seems intent on declassifying intelligence to weaponize it,” Mr. Schiff said in an interview.

[empedocles]

1. Could putin have put traitortrump up to giving Barr free rein to 'help' putin clean house?

[SHRED]

2. Barr, tRump, and the GOP

They are all steeped in laundered rubles.
This is a Russian coup.

[Turbineguy]

3. Damaging?

Now they'll do it for sure.

[Pantagruel]

4. Source probably already "neutralized"

Probably the top quid pro quo awarded to Putin by Trump.

[atreides1]

5. I get it, now!

Trump is giving Barr this authority, so that when Barr ends up revealing US intelligence sources, Trump will have leverage over any report that Barr releases!!!


All US intelligence agencies are going to have to make a decision, and it isn't a easy one!!!

[tblue37]

6. Yet another impeachable offense against the US. nt