[Infowarrior] - POTUS daily intel updates structured to avoid upsetting him: report

[Richard Forno]

Such a delicate doiley, this guy.  Sheesh....  ---rick

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/364844-trump-daily-intel-updates-structured-to-avoid-upsetting-him-report

Trump daily intel updates structured to avoid upsetting him: report

By Rebecca Savransky - 12/14/17 07:43 AM EST 151

President Trump's daily intelligence updates are reportedly set up oftentimes in an effort not to displease him.

The Washington Post reported that U.S. officials would not say whether recent information on Russia had been included in the president's daily briefing.

A former senior intelligence official familiar with the matter said intelligence about Russia that could upset Trump is sometimes just included in the written assessment. The order in which the information is presented could also be altered to try not to upset Trump, according to the Post.

“If you talk about Russia, meddling, interference — that takes the PDB off the rails,” a second former senior U.S. intelligence official said, referring to the president's daily briefing.

A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the briefings are “written by senior-level, career intelligence officers."

They "always provides objective intelligence — including on Russia — to the president and his staff," spokesman Brian Hale said, according to the Post.

Andrew Weiss, a former adviser on Russia in the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations, said Russian President Vladimir Putin "has to believe" that the election-meddling campaign "was the most successful intelligence operation in the history of Russian or Soviet intelligence."

“It has driven the American political system into a crisis that will last years," he said.

Throughout his time in office, Trump has repeatedly dismissed the investigation into Russian election interference. He has referred to the probe as a "witch hunt" and repeatedly denied collusion.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election interference has continued to escalate in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, pleaded guilty to lying to FBI. As part of the plea agreement, Flynn agreed to cooperate fully with Mueller's investigation.