'Lives could be lost': Intel experts fear Trump 2.0 would be national security fiasco

Donald Trump moved even closer to winning the 2024 GOP presidential nomination with his victory over former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in her state's Republican primary on February 24 — a win that follows his victories in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. A Trump/President Joe Biden rematch is looking like it's almost certain, and polls are showing a close race in that scenario.

Trump and his supporters are pushing for a thorough makeover of the United States' federal government agencies if he returns to the White House in January 2025 — a possibility that, according to Politico reporters Erin Banco and John Sakellariadis, worries veterans of the intelligence community.

In an article published on February 26, Banco and Sakellariadis report, "Former top officials from Donald Trump's administration are warning he is likely to use a second term to overhaul the nation's spy agencies in a way that could lead to an unprecedented level of politicization of intelligence. Trump, who already tried to revamp intelligence agencies during his first term, is likely to re-up those plans — and push even harder to replace people perceived as hostile to his political agenda with inexperienced loyalists, according to interviews with more than a dozen people who worked in his administration."

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According to the reporters, Politico interviewed "18 former officials and analysts who worked in the Trump Administration." And a recurring theme is that unquestioning loyalists would "shield him from information that doesn't conform with his politics and even change the wording of assessments with which he disagrees."

Former National Security Council (NSC) official Fiona Hill told Politico, "He wants to weaponize the intelligence community. And the fact is you need to look with a 360-degree perspective. He can't just cherry pick what he wants to hear when there are so many U.S. adversaries and countries that don't wish the U.S. well."

Dan Coats, who served as director of national intelligence under Trump, told Politico that "people's lives could be lost" if Trump returns to the White House and is careless with classified information.

Special counsel Jack Smith, in one of his two federal criminal indictments of the former president, alleges that he jeopardized the United States' national security by storing classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office.

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Neocon John Bolton, who was national security adviser in the Trump Administration before being fired in 2019, told Politico, "The chief requirements for duty will be how quickly you say, 'Yes, sir.' And I think that'll apply to the DNI and CIA director in particular."

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Read Politico's full report at this link.