Top Democrat: 'Disqualifying' if Trump intel pick padded his résumé
Top Democrat: 'Disqualifying' if Trump intel pick padded his résumé
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it would be “clearly disqualifying” if it turns out that President Trump’s nominee to serve as the Director of National Intelligence, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), overstated his biography.
Warner, the committee's top Democrat, pledged that the panel “will thoroughly vet any nominee, if he’s actually put forward.” The comments come days after Trump said he would nominate Ratcliffe to the top intelligence post, an announcement met by instant controversy, with lawmakers questioning his experience for the position.
“I want to give Mr. Ratcliffe to explain himself — but for an individual that’s got less actual intelligence experience than anyone that’s been put forward for any senior position in the intelligence community, that this guy has even had to take that very thin résumé and pad it, that would be clearly disqualifying,” Warner told reporters.
Separately, Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), a senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he would “pull out all the stops” to block Ratcliffe’s confirmation, which requires a simple-majority vote.
“I will pull out all the stops to make sure someone like this who will do so much damage to the credibility of the American intelligence community, at a critical time for our country, I’m going to do everything I can to stop this nomination,” he said.
Ratcliffe’s announced nomination was immediately met with questions on Capitol Hill about whether he has enough experience to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies as outgoing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats’s successor.
Warner on Thursday said Ratcliffe’s performance raised serious questions about the Trump picks' impartiality and compared him to Attorney General William Barr, whom Democrats have accused of mischaracterizing the findings of Mueller’s report.
“When we need to make sure the head of our national intelligence is willing to speak truth to power, Mr. Ratcliffe’s performance at least in the Mueller hearing was more like a Bill Barr, the attorney general’s performance, where they seem more loyal to Trump than loyal to the notion of truth and [the] independence of the intelligence community,” Warner said.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/455778-top-democrat-disqualifying-if-trump-intel-pick-padded-his-resume
Padded résumé huh?? Warner you joke…