Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of Intelligence Officials Over 'Deep State' Claims
Updated
Updated · ms.now · Jul 3
Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of Intelligence Officials Over 'Deep State' Claims
3 articles · Updated · ms.now · Jul 3
Summary
Dozens of intelligence officials received termination notices Thursday as acting DNI Bill Pulte moved to purge staff the Trump administration believes are part of a "deep state."
Intelligence leadership has alleged the targeted officials failed to provide a complete picture of available intelligence, according to an official familiar with the dismissals.
Four former senior intelligence officials said they had never heard of career officers withholding intelligence from superiors and called the premise absurd, especially given Pulte's lack of intelligence experience.
The criticism also focused on ODNI's role: the office does not collect raw intelligence itself but receives it from the CIA, NSA, DIA and 15 other agencies, making such judgments harder to verify quickly.
The firings follow Pulte's removal last month of six political appointees who had served under former DNI Tulsi Gabbard, widening concern that the shake-up could damage U.S. national security.