A7
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2019
Doubts emerge about pick for intelligence chief
By ERIC TUCKER, MARY CLARE
JALONICK and DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Don-
ald Trump’s pick for national intelligence
director has been mayor of a small Texas
city, a federal prosecutor and a member of
Congress.
But questions were already emerging
Monday about whether those qualifi cations
are adequate for the position as the nation
confronts threats that include foreign elec-
tion interference, North Korea’s nuclear
ambitions and the risk of war with Iran.
Rep. John Ratcliffe’s dearth of relevant
experience — a departure from the decades
of intelligence and foreign policy bona fi des
of past position holders — may especially
matter at a time when current and former
government offi cials expect Russia to inter-
fere in the 2020 presidential election just as
it did in unprecedented fashion when Trump
fi rst ran.
“Ratcliffe comes to the job with the least
national security experience and the most
partisan political experience of any previ-
ous director of national intelligence,” said
Mike Morell, a former acting CIA director
who now hosts the “Intelligence Matters”
podcast.
The director of national intelligence has
oversight of the nation’s 17 intelligence
agencies. If confi rmed, Ratcliffe would be
the principal intelligence adviser to Trump,
who has appeared determined to surround
himself with vocal protectors and defenders
even in national security positions that hav-
en’t historically been perceived as overtly
partisan.
It is unclear, for instance, what experi-
ence he will bring in helping thwart foreign
government efforts to interfere in American
politics. Also unknown is whether skepti-
cism he has voiced in Congress about spe-
cial counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia inves-
tigation into ties between Russia and the
Trump campaign will affect his response
to any foreign infl uence or cyberattacks on
campaigns.
Ratcliffe, who was among the most
aggressive Republican questioners of Muel-
ler at public hearings last week, would
replace outgoing director Dan Coats at
a time of broader reshuffl ing within the
SEN. WYDEN STATEMENT
“Congressman Ratcliff e is the most par-
tisan and least-qualifi ed individual ever
nominated to serve as Director of National
Intelligence,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,
a senior member of the Senate Intelli-
gence Committee.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
national security leadership structure.
The selection comes two months after
Trump empowered another ally, Attorney
General William Barr, to declassify intelli-
gence collected by other agencies, including
the CIA, as part of the Russia investigation.
Ratcliffe has made clear his skepticism of
that investigation and his belief that Trump
was treated improperly by investigators,
saying in a talk show appearance Sunday
that it was time to move on from discussion
of impeachment.
“It’s a moment when Donald Trump can
deepen his personal stranglehold over the
intelligence function and knock out any
voices of dissent to his particular world
view,” said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin
of Maryland. “That’s a scary thing for the
country.”
Coats, who will step down next month,
was publicly steadfast about his conviction
that Russia had interfered in the election
even in the face of the president’s ambiva-
lence. He appeared to scoff when told in an
interview last year that Trump had invited
Putin to Washington.
In his resignation letter, he cited as an
accomplishment the appointment of an
election security executive “to support the
whole-of-government effort to address
threats against our election.”
Tensions with Trump notwithstanding,
Coats did bring to the job decades of Wash-
ington experience, including lengthy stints
as an Indiana congressman and U.S. ambas-
sador to Germany. His predecessor in the
Obama administration, James Clapper, spent
“The sum total of his qualifi cations ap-
pears to be his record of promoting Don-
ald Trump’s conspiracy theories about the
investigation into Russian interference and
calling for prosecution of Trump’s political
enemies. Furthermore, he has endorsed
widespread government surveillance and
shown little concern for Americans’ rights,
except for those of Donald Trump and his
close associates,” Wyden said.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Rep. John Ratcliff e, R-Texas, questions former
special counsel Robert Mueller as he testifi es
to the House Intelligence Committee.
“Confi rming this individual would amount
to an endorsement of this administra-
tion’s drive to politicize our intelligence
agencies. This is a dangerous time, and
America needs the most qualifi ed and
objective individuals possible to lead our
intelligence agencies. Anything less risks
American lives.”
decades in the military and in intelligence,
including as director of the Defense Intelli-
gence Agency.
Ratcliffe does not have equivalent cre-
dentials, though his supporters are likely to
point to his experience as a terrorism prose-
cutor and federal prosecutor, as well as his
recent membership on the House intelligence
committee, which he joined in January.
First elected to Congress in 2014, Rat-
cliffe’s experience as top federal prosecutor
in east Texas gave him instant clout when
Republicans ran the Judiciary panel. He was
one of the main questioners when Republi-
cans hauled in Justice Department offi cials
to question them about whether they were
biased against Trump in the early days of the
FBI’s Russia probe.
Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on
the House’s intelligence committee, tweeted
that Ratcliffe “understands the intricacies of
the intelligence community as well as civil
liberties.”
It’s unclear whether concerns about his
credentials will trip up the confi rmation pro-
cess. Confi rmation takes a simple 51-vote
majority, under new rules in the Senate, but
that leaves slim room for error with Republi-
cans holding a 53-seat majority.
Sen. Richard Burr, the top Republican
on the Senate intelligence committee, said
Monday that he would move swiftly to push
the nomination through his Republican-led
panel, even though the Senate’s top Demo-
crat, Charles Schumer of New York, warned
that it would be a big mistake “if Senate
Republicans elevate such a partisan player
to a position requiring intelligence expertise
& non-partisanship.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
nell issued a statement Sunday that praised
Coats but pointedly noted: “The U.S. intelli-
gence community works best when it is led
by professionals who protect its work from
political or analytical bias and who deliver
unvarnished hard truths to political leaders in
both the executive and legislative branches.
Very often the news these briefi ngs bring is
unpleasant, but it is essential that we be con-
fronted with the facts. Dan Coats was such
a leader.”
Even before Mueller testifi ed, Trump had
his eye on Ratcliffe, who had already estab-
lished himself as an outspoken defender
of the president and raised Trump-backed
questions about the conduct of the intelli-
gence community in the Russia probe. But
two offi cials said his aggressive questioning
of the former special counsel cemented the
president’s view that he was the right per-
son for the job.
accord and reimposed sanctions.
Representatives of Iran, Germany,
France, Britain, China, Russia and the
European Union met in Vienna to discuss
the 2015 agreement that restricts the Ira-
nian nuclear program.
Iran is pressuring the European parties
to the deal to offset the sanctions U.S. Pres-
ident Donald Trump reinstated after pull-
ing out. The country recently surpassed
the amount of low-enriched uranium it is
allowed to stockpile and started enriching
uranium past a 3.67% limit permitted, to
4.5%, saying the actions could be reversed
if the Europeans came up with incentives
that compensated for the impact of the
sanctions on the Iranian economy.
The Europeans urged Iran to come back
to full compliance and Iran urged the Euro-
pean Union, France, Britain and Germany
to implement their part of the deal. All
sides expressed strong opposition against
the unilateral imposition of sanctions by
the U.S. They also voiced support for Chi-
na’s efforts to maintain normal trade and oil
relations with Iran.
WORLD IN BRIEF
Associated Press
US offi cials: Afghan soldier
kills 2 American troops
WASHINGTON — An Afghan sol-
dier shot and killed two American service
members in Afghanistan, U.S. offi cials
said Monday.
U.S. Central Command confi rmed that
two U.S. troops were killed, but provided
no details. It said additional information is
being withheld until 24 hours after notifi -
cation of next of kin is complete.
The Afghan soldier was wounded and
is in custody, offi cials said. The shooting
took place in Kandahar in the country’s
south.
The U.S. formally ended its Afghan
combat mission in 2014, but still provides
extensive air and other support to local
forces battling both the Taliban and an
affi liate of the Islamic State group.
U.S. and allied forces have faced
increasing insider attacks in recent years.
In November, Brent Taylor, the mayor of
North Ogden, Utah, and a major in the Utah
National Guard, was killed by an Afghan
soldier in Kabul. The last six months
have seen the Taliban carry out near-daily
attacks, mainly targeting Afghan security
forces.
Trump signs Sept. 11 victims’
compensation fund extension
WASHINGTON — President Donald
Trump signed a bill Monday ensuring that
a victims’ compensation fund helping those
impacted by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks
never runs out of money, ending years of
legislative gridlock as the number of fi rst
responders dying of Ground Zero-related
illnesses mounted.
Appearing in the Rose Garden with
more than 60 fi rst responders from the 2001
terrorist attacks, Trump signed into law an
extension of the fund through 2092, essen-
tially making it permanent.
The $7.4 billion fund had been rap-
idly depleting, and administrators recently
cut benefi t payments by up to 70%. The
bill passed Congress on a bipartisan basis
but only after delays by some Republi-
cans exposed the legislative branch to bru-
tal criticism from activists, including the
comedian Jon Stewart.
Dozens of fi rst responders, many
gravely ill, would repeatedly travel to
Washington to lobby lawmakers to extend
the funding every time it needed to be
reauthorized. Though their ranks shrunk,
as emergency workers died of cancers and
other diseases linked to the toxic fumes
from the World Trade Center rubble, the
fate of the funding had never been perma-
nently guaranteed.
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Diplomats recommit
to saving Iran deal,
oppose US sanctions
529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON
503-861-0929
VIENNA — Diplomats from Iran and
fi ve world powers recommitted Sunday
to salvaging a major nuclear deal amid
mounting tensions between the West and
Tehran since the U.S. withdrew from the
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MONDAY
REGIONAL FORECAST
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Seattle
70 56
72 56
72 58
Partly sunny Clouds and sun
Thickening
clouds
72 57
72 56
Mostly cloudy
Partly sunny
and nice
73 58
Sunny
72 59
Partly sunny
Aberdeen
Olympia
70/56
76/59
Wenatchee
Tacoma
Moses
Lake
UNDER THE SKY
TODAY'S TIDES
Astoria through Sunday
Tonight’s Sky: Arcturus, the
leading star of Bootes, the herds-
man, is in the west tonight.
Astoria / Port Docks
Temperatures
High/low ................................ 70/50
Normal high/low .................. 68/54
Record high .................. 82 in 2003
Record low .................... 45 in 2008
Precipitation
Sunday ..................................... 0.00”
Month to date ........................ 1.62”
Normal month to date ......... 0.96”
Year to date .......................... 24.49”
Normal year to date ........... 36.87”
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019
Time
High (ft.) Time Low (ft.)
1:24 p.m.
none
6.5 7:03 a.m. -1.2
6:46 p.m. 2.5
Cape Disappointment
1:00 p.m.
none
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hammond
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today .................. 5:55 a.m.
Sunset tonight ............... 8:49 p.m.
Moonrise today .............. 4:04 a.m.
Moonset today .............. 8:02 p.m.
New
First
Full
Last
1:12 p.m.
none
Warrenton
1:19 p.m.
none
6.6 6:29 a.m. -1.5
6:16 p.m. 2.5
6.9 6:47 a.m. -1.1
6:30 p.m. 2.7
Knappa
12:15 a.m. 8.6 8:04 a.m. -1.0
2:01 p.m. 6.8 7:47 p.m. 2.2
Depoe Bay
July 31 Aug 7 Aug 15 Aug 23
6.1 6:07 a.m. -1.5
5:51 p.m. 2.5
12:15 p.m. 6.6 5:38 a.m. -1.5
11:20 p.m. 9.1 5:20 p.m. 2.8
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Honolulu
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Wash., DC
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
89/72/t
93/75/s
78/61/pc
97/75/s
95/66/t
89/78/pc
90/77/t
85/65/pc
91/77/t
92/75/pc
102/80/c
70/56/pc
94/74/s
91/73/pc
88/72/t
78/60/s
98/77/pc
95/63/pc
89/78/pc
91/74/t
84/64/pc
91/79/c
86/72/t
95/83/t
71/57/pc
89/73/t
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy,
c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,
r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice.
84/49
Kennewick Walla Walla
90/63 Lewiston
93/58
93/60
Hermiston
The Dalles 92/59
Enterprise
Pendleton 85/50
90/58
85/60
La Grande
88/54
81/55
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Hi/Lo/W
Pullman
90/55
76/54
Salem
85/57
Yakima 91/56
Longview
70/56 Portland
81/59
Spokane
87/62
78/54
77/52
Astoria
ALMANAC
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Corvallis
82/53
Albany
81/53
John Day
Eugene
Bend
84/51
86/47
91/55
Ontario
98/63
Caldwell
Burns
91/49
96/60
Medford
90/57
Klamath Falls
85/47
City
Baker City
Brookings
Ilwaco
Newberg
Newport
Today
Hi/Lo/W
91/49/s
66/51/pc
68/57/pc
80/53/s
65/54/pc
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
92/52/pc
68/54/pc
69/58/pc
83/55/s
67/55/pc
City
North Bend
Roseburg
Seaside
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Today
Hi/Lo/W
69/55/c
85/55/s
69/55/pc
83/52/s
78/56/s
Wed.
Hi/Lo/W
70/57/s
88/58/s
72/58/pc
87/55/s
83/59/s