September 26, 2019

MUST READ: Former CIA Analyst Rips Whistleblower Complaint To Shreds

By Paul Bois
20 February 2019, Hamburg: A participant in a warning strike by collective bargaining employees at schools and universities in Hamburg stands in front of the tax authorities and blows a whistle with the logo of the GEW trade union. In the wage dispute in the public sector, the unions demand six percent more money, but at least 200 euros more per month.
Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images

As the Democratic Party feigns outrage over the recently declassified “whistleblower” complaint in which an unnamed intelligence official asserts numerous allegations against President Trump based entirely on third-party hearsay, a Twitter thread from former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz ripping the complaint to shreds has since gone viral.

In the lengthy thread, Fleitz first points out that the whistleblower’s intent is clearly political based on the language in the given text and that he/she should never have had knowledge of the July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky.

“As a former CIA analyst and former NSC official who edited transcripts of POTUS phone calls with foreign leaders, here are my thoughts on the whistleblower complaint which was just released,” begins Fleitz. “This is not an intelligence matter. It is a policy matter and a complaint about differences over policy. Presidential phone calls are not an intelligence concern. The fact that IC officers transcribe these calls does not give the IC IG jurisdiction over these calls. It appears that rules restricting access and knowledge of these sensitive calls was breached. This official was not on this call, not on the approved dissem list and should not have been briefed on the call.”

Fleitz goes on to say that the “whistleblower” clearly had help in authoring the report and wondered if he spoke to House Intelligence Committee members beforehand.

“The way this complaint was written suggested the author had a lot of help. I know from my work on the House Intel Commitee staff that many whistleblowers go directly to the intel oversight committees. Did this whistleblower first meet with House Intel committee members?” ponders Fleitz. “It is therefore important that Congress find out where this complaint came from. What did House and Senate intel committee dem members and staff know about it and when? Did they help orchestrate this complaint?”

“My view is that this whistleblower complaint is too convenient and too perfect to come from a typical whistleblower,” he continues. “Were other IC officers involved? Where outside groups opposed to the president involved?”

Ultimately, Fleitz concludes that the “whistleblower” complaint will only further damage the already fraught relationship between the White House and intelligence community [IC], which was already fervently magnified by the Mueller investigation.

“This complaint will further damage IC relations with the White House for many years to come because IC officers appear to be politicizing presidential phone calls with foreign officials and their access to the president and his activities in the White House,” says Fleitz. “Worst of all, this IC officer — and probably others — have blatantly crossed the line into policy. This violates a core responsibility of IC officers is to inform, but not make policy. This is such a grievous violation of trust between the IC and the White House that it would not surprise me if IC officers are barred from all access to POTUS phone calls with foreign officials.”

Fleitz’s assertions that the “whistleblower” complaint clearly had a political motivation matches a report from the underlying inspector general.