Information security

Douglas MacKinnon: Did CIA Deep State spy trigger Trump impeachment probe? Dangerous leaks like this must end

Several news organizations have reported that the whistleblower behind the “Ukraine impeachment” feeding frenzy is a CIA officer who was detailed to the White House.

If accurate, that raises some very troubling questions and scenarios.

Not for President Trump. But rather, for the CIA and others in the Deep State who may be leaking confidential and top secret information for personal or partisan reasons.

The Trump White House and CIA have a history. Part of it has been adversarial from the very beginning of the Trump administration.

Over two years ago, new organizations reported that career officials within the CIA were doing everything in their power to remove Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Trump’s then-senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council.

The CIA officials were reportedly outraged that Cohen-Watnick, along with his previous boss, Michael Flynn, saw eye-to-eye about what they believed to be the failings of CIA human intelligence operations.

In a news report at the time, an intelligence community insider said CIA officials viewed Cohen-Watnick as a "threat," so they tried to replace him with an "agency loyalist."