White House Plans to Have Trump Ally Review Intelligence Agencies

[babylonsister]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/us/politics/trump-intelligence-agencies-stephen-feinberg.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=b-lede-package-region%C2%AEion%3Dtop-news&WT.nav=top-news

White House Plans to Have Trump Ally Review Intelligence Agencies

By JAMES RISEN and MATTHEW ROSENBERG
FEB. 15, 2017


WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to assign a New York billionaire to lead a broad review of American intelligence agencies, according to administration officials, an effort that members of the intelligence community fear could curtail their independence and reduce the flow of information that contradicts the president’s worldview.

The possible role for Stephen A. Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, has met fierce resistance among intelligence officials already on edge because of the criticism the intelligence community has received from Mr. Trump during the campaign and since he became president. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump blamed leaks from the intelligence community for the departure of Michael T. Flynn, his national security adviser, whose resignation he requested.

snip//

On an array of issues — including the Iran nuclear deal, the utility of NATO, and how best to combat Islamist militancy — much of the information and analysis produced by American intelligence agencies contradicts the policy positions of the new administration. The divide is starkest when it comes to Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin, whom Mr. Trump has repeatedly praised while dismissing American intelligence assessments that Moscow sought to promote his own candidacy.

snip//


Through Cerberus, his private equity company, Mr. Feinberg has strong ties to the government contracting industry. Cerberus owns DynCorp International, which has had a wide array of large contracts providing security to the State Department and other agencies. DynCorp is now locked in a major legal dispute over the fate of a $10 billion State Department contract that it previously held to provide air support for counternarcotics operations overseas.

John F. Kelly, the new Homeland Security secretary, was paid $166,000 a year as a DynCorp adviser until he was named to the new administration.

Cerberus also owns Remington Outdoor, a major firearms manufacturer.

In 2008, Mr. Feinberg also considered investing in Blackwater, the security firm founded by Erik Prince, a former member of the Navy SEALs, before it was ultimately acquired by other investors.

New York magazine reported last year that Mr. Feinberg went to Blackwater’s North Carolina compound in 2005 to take firearms training.

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[Trust Buster]

1. This represents the final piece to installing a totalitarian system in this country.

He owns the Justice Department including the FBI. He has successfully de-legitimized the media. Now he seeks total control over our intelligence agencies. Chump will control the flow of all information. We have never been here before folks.

[dalton99a]

2. Yep. This is very important news.

[babylonsister]

3. Exactly. And of course a man with no experience in this arena

goes with the territory. I hope he's a miserable failure, like the rest of them.

[KittyWampus]

4. Maybe the Intelligence community can leak something on this assh*le too.