Appointing Ratcliffe as DNI is a joke. Just another power grab by Trump. And it will be completely approved by Trump supporters, who simply refuse to recognize power grabs by this would be dictator. I expect him to own the Republican Party. That's not atypical for a president. But the Justice Department? And now the entire Intelligence Community?
And don't be surprised if he makes certain, by any and all means, that he does not lose in 2020. I put nothing past this man.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/john-ratcliffe-dni-dan-coats-donald-trump.html
Emily Tamkin: I saw you comparing the Ratcliffe nomination to the situation with Attorney General Bill Barr. To what extent is this what we’ve seen before, with Trump putting his own loyalists in, and to what extent is this unique?
Ned Price: We’ve seen this before across the Trump administration. There’s no doubt about that. But we haven’t seen this when it comes to a national security position like the director of national intelligence. I think the comparison to Barr is an apt one, and I think Trump intends to nominate Ratcliffe because he wants him to be the Bill Barr of the intelligence realm. But the comparison with Barr can only go so far.
I think what’s instructive to remember is back [in the spring] of this year, when Trump
made some waves by delegating to Barr declassification authorities vis-a-vis his inquiry into the intelligence community’s Russia analysis. Were John Ratcliffe to be confirmed to this position, that proactive step wouldn’t be necessary because Ratcliffe would have both classification and declassification authority when it comes to our most sensitive national assets. That is, sources of intelligence, methods of intelligence, programs, priorities: the keys to our intelligence kingdom. And in Ratcliffe, he would find someone, I think as we’ve seen from his appearance during last week’s Mueller hearing, his Fox News interviews—he would find someone who seems be willing to put Trump’s interests over those of the American people. We all take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. I think my concern is Ratcliffe would see this job as protecting and defending Donald Trump, the Constitution be damned. And I think the tools at his disposal, chiefly, classification and declassification, along with ready access to the president on a near daily basis, could be a very dangerous combination when it comes to someone like this as director of national intelligence.