The incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering intelligence community reforms that could shake up its structure.
According to The Washington Times, the transition team is considering doing away with the director of national intelligence – despite the announced nomination of former Indiana GOP Sen. Dan Coats to the position.
The reform could include reverting to the old system of having a Director of Central Intelligence as a nominal chief of the 17 intelligence agencies who also ran the CIA. The new system could include separate DCI and CIA directors.
According to the Times, that change would leave Coats as the Director of Central Intelligence along with Rep. Mike Pompeo, the director-designate of the CIA. Both are conservatives who favor reforming the current intelligence system.
The DNI was created after 9/11 to better coordinate the many separate intelligence agencies, but the Times reported its functions have created new layers of bureaucracy and red tape as well.
The pending reforms should include a downsizing of analysts and administrative personnel, especially a large number of lawyers, the Times reported.
"The new administration needs to encourage intelligence professionals who have been harmed by the political class to come forward and reveal what has taken place," one unnamed official told the Times.
One target of criticism by the incoming administration has been outgoing CIA Director John Brennan, a career intelligence analyst criticized for turning the agency "leftward," the Times reported.
An unnamed CIA source told the Times that Brennan weakened the Directorate of Operations — the espionage branch — by mixing in political appointees and analysts with trained operatives.
Trump and Brennan have clashed over the release of an unsubstantiated dossier alleging Russia had compromising information on Trump. Brennan denied he disclosed details of a secret briefing where the dossier was discussed.
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