CIA director

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Biden Goes With William Burns to Head Up CIA

'The American people will sleep soundly'

(Newser) - President-elect Joe Biden announced Monday he has chosen veteran diplomat William Burns to be his CIA director. A former ambassador to Russia and Jordan, Burns, 64, had a 33-year career at the State Department under both Republican and Democratic presidents. He rose through the ranks of the diplomatic corps to...

Sources Float Name of Possible Replacement for Tillerson

CIA Director Mike Pompeo, as Trump's rift with current secretary of state reportedly deepens

(Newser) - It's been a tumultuous week on the Tillerson-Trump front, with the secretary of state forced to hold a presser to address rumors he'd once nearly resigned (he denied that) and that he'd called the president a moron (he didn't say either way, though a spokeswoman later...

Trump's CIA Pick Has Own Thoughts on Torture, Russia

Rep. Mike Pompeo says he 'absolutely' won't approve use of torture

(Newser) - Donald Trump's nominee for CIA director broke with the president-elect on Russia and torture during a confirmation hearing Thursday. CNN reports Rep. Mike Pompeo said "absolutely not" when asked if he would bring back the use of enhanced interrogation techniques if ordered by the president. It was a...

Petraeus' New Gig: University Professor

Retired general to lecture at City University of NY

(Newser) - Ex-CIA director David Petraeus is replacing one kind of intelligence work with another. Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York says the retired four-star general has been named a visiting professor for public policy, starting in August. Petraeus, who left the CIA after an extramarital affair was exposed...

Petraeus Launches Return to Public Life

USC speech marks first major appearance since scandal

(Newser) - David Petraeus has been keeping a low profile since stepping down as CIA director last fall over the Paula Broadwell affair , but a speech at the University of Southern California tonight will mark his return to public life. At an event honoring veterans, Petraeus will apologize for the circumstances that...

Obama Will Tap John Brennan for CIA Director

Will nominate Brennan, Chuck Hagel today

(Newser) - President Obama will make two potentially controversial nominations this afternoon: Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director, the AP reports. Brennan, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, has a close relationship with the president and was very involved in planning the Osama bin Laden raid. He was...

Petraeus Backs 'More Than the Normal' Interrogations

But only in dire circumstances, says CIA nominee

(Newser) - David Petraeus says he believes in "more than the normal" interrogation techniques when fast action is required to save lives, reports the LA Times . Speaking at his confirmation hearing to be next director of the CIA, Petraeus said that, while he is against torture in general, he also thinks...

Lines Blur in War, Spying
 Lines Blur in War, Spying 
Apr 28, 2011 7:26 AM CDT

Lines Blur in War, Spying

Which explains the Panetta-Petraeus shake-up

(Newser) - Today, President Obama is expected to announce that CIA director Leon Panetta will become secretary of defense, and that David Petraeus will slide into his old job. That’s a pretty startling illustration of just how far the lines between spies and soldiers have blurred over the past year, the...

Petraeus in the Running to Head CIA

And Leon Panetta might replace Robert Gates

(Newser) - David Petraeus's stint as commander in Afghanistan is set to end by early fall, and his next stop just might be Langley. Government officials tell NPR that Petraeus is being seriously considered as the next head of the CIA, and that he’d accept the position if offered. Current CIA...

CIA Chief Blamed for Getting Egypt's Hopes Up

Panetta testified to 'strong likelihood' of Mubarak exit

(Newser) - CIA director Leon Panetta is being blamed for prematurely raising the hopes of millions of Egyptians yesterday. Panetta testified before Congress that there was a "strong likelihood"of Hosni Mubarak stepping down before the day was out. His remarks spread like wildfire, and protesters in Cairo were left stunned...

Report: US Gave Nazis 'Safe Haven'

DOJ findings on Nazis in America after war

(Newser) - In the aftermath of World War II, numerous Nazis turned to an unlikely safe haven: the United States of America. The New York Times has obtained a hotly sought-after Justice Department report, which Justice itself tried to block for four years, that details the US government's twisted and complex past...

CIA Will Cover Legal Bills for Officers in Inquiry

(Newser) - Leon Panetta couldn't stop the Justice Department's widening inquiry into the CIA's interrogation policies, but the agency's director can make sure his employees don't go broke paying legal fees. The agency will see to it that case officers caught up in the investigation have representation, the Washington Post reports. Most...

In Obama White House, Justice Trumps CIA
 In Obama White House, Justice Trumps CIA 
ANALYSIS
Aug 28, 2009 7:40 AM CDT

In Obama White House, Justice Trumps CIA

Eric Holder carves a new, powerful role as attorney general

(Newser) - The appointment of a federal prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogations exposed a long-running turf war between the intelligence agency and the Department of Justice—and demonstrated the substantial clout of AG Eric Holder, who prevailed in almost every dispute with CIA Director Leon Panetta. The New York Times and Washington ...

Ex-Spy to Congress: Back Off and Let the CIA Do Its Job

(Newser) - Mounting animosity between Congress and the CIA has seriously damaged morale at the agency and could damage national security, critics are charging. "It's one of the last nails in the CIA's coffin. It's finished. It's over. It's done," former Middle East operative Robert Baer, who was the model...

Dems: Panetta Admits CIA Lied

(Newser) - A group of Democratic lawmakers says CIA chief Leon Panetta admitted that the agency has misled Congress since 2001 and "concealed significant actions," reports Politico. A letter released by the lawmakers, all members of the House Intelligence panel, offered no specifics on when Panetta made the admission or...

Cheney Hopes 'Old Friend' Panetta Was Misquoted

(Newser) - As the CIA scrambled to do damage control today in the wake of director Leon Panetta's New Yorker interview, Dick Cheney fired back. The former VP's office released a statement that reads in full: "I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted. The important thing is whether the Obama...

McCain to CIA Chief Panetta: Retract Cheney Slam Now

Panetta said Cheney almost seemed to want attack on US

(Newser) - Sen. John McCain called today on CIA director Leon Panetta to “retract immediately” his suggestion that Dick Cheney might want another attack on the US, the Hill reports. Panetta told the New Yorker that “it’s almost as if” Cheney is “wishing that this country would be...

Bin Laden in Pakistan: CIA Head

Finding leader remains 'major priority,' he says

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden is still in Pakistan and his arrest remains a top priority for the US, CIA Director Leon Panetta said today, adding that joint operations with Pakistani forces could finally net al-Qaeda’s top leader. The CIA has Pakistani informants that keep it abreast of terrorist targets there,...

The White House May Be Trying to Purge Pelosi
The White House May Be Trying
to Purge Pelosi
OPINION
May 18, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

The White House May Be Trying to Purge Pelosi

Kristol: Why else would CIA boss 'humiliate' his party's speaker?

(Newser) - After Nancy Pelosi suggested the CIA had misled Congress, the agency’s director fired back with a letter denying the claim. But the idea that Leon Panetta would send a letter “humiliating a House speaker of his own party” entirely of his own accord seems “almost inconceivable,”...

Ex-CIA Chief: Congress' Sudden 'Amnesia' a Joke
Ex-CIA Chief: Congress' Sudden 'Amnesia' a Joke
OPINION
Apr 25, 2009 2:46 PM CDT

Ex-CIA Chief: Congress' Sudden 'Amnesia' a Joke

(Newser) - The outrage on Capitol Hill against Bush-era interrogation policies is nothing more than a disingenuous “circus,” former CIA chief Porter Goss writes in the Washington Post. Goss, also a former congressman, says he and other senior lawmakers were briefed more than once about CIA tactics. “I do...

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