BREAKING (John Schindler): DDIR Rick Ledgett (NSA top civilian) unexpectedly announces he's retiring

[highplainsdem]

Link to tweet

BREAKING: #NSA # 2 official (DDIR) Rick Ledgett unexpectedly announced he's retiring, ostensibly for family reasons. IC RUMINT is flowing.

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DDIR Ledgett has been #NSA's top civilian since APR 2014, his retirement was not anticipated...something's up.

[sunonmars]

1. Probably does not want to work with Flynn - or he's been removed as a threat to their plans

[Nevermypresident]

2. We will see more of this

unfortunately. Of course, Bannon and tRump love it.

[highplainsdem]

3. Schindler had the news about this hours before the media, includig Politico. Their story:

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/nsa-deputy-director-resigning-richard-leggett-234636

The No. 2 official at the NSA will soon leave his post, the agency confirmed today.

NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett has announced his plans to retire in the spring, an NSA spokesman told POLITICO.

“It has been anticipated that he would retire in 2017 and he decided the time is right this spring after nearly 40 years of service to the nation,” spokesman Michael Halbig said in an email.

The agency did not explain the timing of Ledgett's decision, including whether it is related to the advent of the Trump administration.

-snip-

Susan Hennessey, a former NSA attorney, "it's hard to know what to make" of Ledgett's departure.

"Certainly, Ledgett has been a sort of 'canary in the coal mine' for people concerned about NSA under [President] Donald Trump," she told POLITICO in an email. "He is universally recognized as someone who has served with a great deal of integrity. So the fact that he was the deputy director was some reassurance; nothing bad was going to happen on his watch."