Intel briefing

Trump’s intel briefer breaks her silence

A career CIA officer explained in rare public remarks on Monday what she’s learned about adapting intelligence briefings to the unique style of a particular “customer” — in her case, President Donald Trump.

Beth Sanner, a senior official at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence who also serves as Trump’s primary intelligence briefer, never mentioned the president by name during an event hosted by the non-profit Intelligence & National Security Alliance on Monday.

But the unusual core challenge of her job — delivering intelligence to Donald J. Trump — was unavoidable as she discussed her own briefing techniques in detail, explaining that while she strives to be competent and fearless, she also tries not to be off-putting and aims to tailor briefings to a customer’s particular style.

Intel briefing

Herb Allen’s Sun Valley Retreat: The CIA And Trump, Immunology & Emerging Tech Companies Wrap Up The Week

Also on the agenda was a talk between the former CIA director George Tenet and the current CIA director Mike Pompeo. “He did a pretty good job,” said one exec. “I was actually pretty impressed with him. He answered everything mostly politically because Trump put him in there, but the way he talked about things you could tell he knew what he was doing.” One of the few things that Pompeo revealed was that President Trump, the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Secretary of Defense James Mattis apparently ask very detailed questions. For instance, where President Obama used to be briefed over a 45 minute period, President Trump will spend over an hour a day being briefed and asking questions.

Intel briefing

Trump demands pictures and graphics for his intelligence briefings every day - and Jared is getting his own briefings

President Trump likes his nearly daily intelligence briefing to be visually stimulating – charts, map, pictures, even videos, along with 'killer graphics' – CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Washington Post. 

'That's our task right? To deliver the material in a way that he can best understand the information we're trying to communicate,' Pompeo told the paper for a story about Trump's intelligence consuming habits, adding that like Trump the CIA director likes to 'get to the core of the issue quickly.' 

The same report revealed that while Trump takes his briefings around 10:30 a.m., with a Diet Coke in hand, his son-in-law Jared Kushner gets his own intelligence briefing in the hours before. 

Intel briefing

Trump rejects new 'compromising' Russia claims

Donald Trump has decried as a "political witch hunt" US media reports that Russian intelligence agencies have obtained personally compromising material related to him.

Unsubstantiated allegations say Russia has embarrassing information about him.

Without referring to the stories, the president-elect tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"

Mr Trump is due to hold a news conference on Wednesday, nine days before he takes office.

...The US intelligence agencies reportedly presented the information to the president-elect and his predecessor at the White House, President Barack Obama.

They were said to be attached to a wider classified report into alleged interference by Russia into the US election.

But there has been nothing said publicly by the US intelligence community to support these unsubstantiated claims.

Intel briefing

Educating Trump with Intelligence: Questions are as Important as Answers

“I don't have to be told—you know, I'm, like, a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years.” 

That’s how President-elect Trump explained in an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News his intention not to receive daily intelligence briefings as president.  He evidently has a major misconception about the content of such briefings.  Obviously it would be a waste of the president’s, and everyone else’s, time if the briefings consisted of the same thing in the same words every single day.  But they don’t.  Trump has largely declined the opportunities for intelligence briefings that most every other president-elect has taken advantage of, so the “same thing, same words” misconception evidently is a preconceived notion that he somehow arrived at, rather than anything based on experience.

Intel briefing

Here's What I Know About Daily Intelligence Briefings

"Sweetheart, I have to stay late tonight."

Not an entirely unusual phone call from my wife, who was once a part of what is known as the "IC," that is to say, the "Intelligence Community." See, despite some assertions by talking heads in the media today, it's not just the Central Intelligence Agency that develops the global picture for our national leaders. There is an entire "Alphabet Soup" of intelligence agencies out there. Their collective product is called the "President's Daily Brief," a.k.a. the "PDB." Each day represents the professional opinion of people with literally centuries of experience, about what two or three items the President needs to know. Now.

Intel briefing

Trump: I don't need daily briefings

President-elect Donald Trump said he does not need to receive the presidential intelligence briefing every day, suggesting in an interview aired Sunday that such briefings are repetitive and he is happy to rely on those around him on matters of intelligence and national security.

Trump has been given the daily intelligence briefing just a handful of times since winning the White House last month, alarming some in the national security community. But those briefings do not always change day to day, Trump told “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace in an interview taped over the weekend. And when he does receive the briefing, Trump said he always instructs those offering him the information to contact him should new developments emerge.

Intel briefing

Kellyanne Conway: Donald Trump’s intelligence briefings are coming from “a number of sources”

Soon after he secured the Republican presidential nomination, blustery businessman Donald Trump swore off any assistance from the U.S. intelligence community, declaring that he did not trust the intelligence briefings he was set to receive as the nominee of a major political party. “I won’t use them because they’ve made such bad decisions,” he said at the time.

“Our country has no idea,” who was behind the Democratic National Committee email hack, Trump said during the final presidential debate, even though multiple intelligence agencies said that Russia was behind the hack.

Intel briefing

Trump turning away intelligence briefers since election win

President-elect Donald Trump has received two classified intelligence briefings since his surprise election victory earlier this month, a frequency that is notably lower — at least so far — than that of his predecessors, current and former U.S. officials said.

A team of intelligence analysts has been prepared to deliver daily briefings on global developments and security threats to Trump in the two weeks since he won. Vice President-elect Mike Pence, by contrast, has set aside time for intelligence briefings almost every day since the election, officials said.

Officials involved in the Trump transition team cautioned against assigning any significance to the briefing schedule that the president-elect has set so far, noting that he has been immersed in the work of forming his administration, and has made filling key national security posts his top priority.

Intel briefing

Trump's security briefings will show him challenges, CIA director says

The nation’s CIA director said Thursday that he believes Donald Trump’s national security briefings will show the president-elect that defeating the Islamic State and tackling other security threats across the globe are challenges that the United States must address with its allies and partners. 

CIA Director John Brennan said the briefings also will bring greater clarity for Trump and his team on the reasons behind the United States’ commitments to its allies and the arrangements that go with them. Brennan expressed confidence in a smooth transition between presidential administrations, vowing his agency would provide Trump’s team with the best intelligence possible. 

Intel briefing

U.S. spy agencies to begin top secret Trump briefings within days

U.S. intelligence agencies will soon begin giving President-elect Donald Trump the same top secret national security briefings they give President Barack Obama, current and former intelligence officials said Wednesday.

The briefings by veteran career intelligence analysts, which will begin in the next few days, will include some of the government's most closely-guarded secrets, including details of undercover espionage operations and classified intelligence collection methods, including the National Security Agency's controversial eavesdropping operations, the officials said.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which will be in charge of Trump's briefings, had no immediate comment.

"I'm certain the intelligence agencies will approach these briefings with absolute professionalism," said John McLaughlin, a former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency who participated in presidential briefings.

Intel briefing

Donald Trump to receive second intelligence briefing

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump received his second intelligence briefing on Friday at the FBI’s field office in New York City.

Trump received his first intelligence briefing in the same location last month, but also brought along New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, a former Defense Intelligence Agency director. It’s uncertain, however, whether the same advisors attended Friday’s scheduled meeting.

Intel briefing

Intelligence briefings become flashpoint for Trump and Clinton campaigns

It is unclear exactly how many members of the campaigns receive the briefings; the presidential and vice presidential nominee receive the briefings without requiring separate security clearances, while aides must have clearance to accompany, according to an intelligence official.

Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service — which runs the Center for Presidential Transition — said that the complexity and the importance of the transition process means it must begin now, particularly when it comes to national security.

"Whoever wins, we should want a president that's well-prepared to run our government," Stier said. "The briefings are a small piece of a larger action that's necessary here."

Intel briefing

Here's why you shouldn't worry about Clinton and Trump receiving top-secret intelligence briefings

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will begin receiving top secret briefings from the US intelligence community in the coming days, and that's leading some big names in Washington — and some people around the country — to say they shouldn't go forward because neither candidate can be trusted with sensitive classified information.
But the president says they'll continue as planned, and his intel chief and former senior spies say that's a good thing. Moreover, they say it's simply not that big of a deal.

Intel briefing

How Intelligence Briefings for Trump, Clinton Will Work

Now that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have accepted their parties’ nominations for president, they will be entitled to several classified briefings from U.S. intelligence officials. Here’s a look at how the briefings will work:

The White House will reach out to both campaigns and connect them with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which has been planning the briefings for weeks. The campaigns can either accept the offer for intelligence briefings or decline. They will most likely accept.

The candidates, and sometimes senior aides, will then schedule a time and place for the meeting. Often, intelligence officials travel to meet the candidates during the hectic campaign schedule. Candidates can receive one briefing or multiple briefings, depending on their interest.

Intel briefing

Top spy: No concerns at all about briefing Clinton, Trump

The top U.S. spy said Thursday he has no reservations about giving either presidential nominee intelligence briefings, despite security concerns raised by Democrats and Republicans about both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively.

Both candidates will receive the traditional intelligence community briefing afforded to presidential nominees if they want them, said James Clapper, director of national intelligence.

"There is no stipulation anywhere requires a security clearance for any presidential candidate," Clapper said, speaking in Colorado at the Aspen Security Forum. "The fact that they’re a candidate qualifies them. It's not up to the administration and me personally to decide on the suitability of a presidential candidate.

Intel briefing

Hillary Clinton Will Receive Intelligence Briefings Despite GOP Pressure, Official Says

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will receive intelligence briefings in the run-up to the November elections, despite pressure from some Republicans to ban her access to the information following recent FBI criticism of her handling of classified emails, the nation’s top intelligence official told Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on Monday.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in a letter to Mr. Ryan, wrote, “I do not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidate,” according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Mrs. Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump are expected to begin receiving intelligence briefings following the Democratic and Republican conventions this month.