New in SpyWeek: Bill Pulte's License to Kill, More Kash Cuts, CIA's Gold Theft Headache
Also this week: a Jan6 rioter takes up DoD intel post, Intel allies fret, Iran and the Kurds, anger over a Greek terrorist's release
The Axeman Cometh: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, President Trump said he has privately told soon-to-be Acting DNI Bill Pulte that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is “unnecessary and/or too big.” “I’d like to see it smaller,” he added, “I think there are a lot of people in there that shouldn’t be there.” First up on the cutting board: Holdovers from the Biden and Obama administrations. Longtime Washington Post national security columnist David Ignatius suggested Pulte’s title could be ““The Acting Director of Political Retribution,” adding, “Top analysts are said to be wary of joining the ODNI’s National Intelligence Council because they fear political pressure to spin judgments.” Reuters, meanwhile, reported Tuesday that “The CIA has stopped contributing to some intelligence assessments, including those related to the Iran war,” produced by the ODNI. “At the heart of the disagreements is a clash over a task force set up in April 2025” by outgoing DNI Tulsi Gabbard,, sources told Reuters’ Erin Banco and Jonathan Landay. CIA Director John Ratcliffe “contends that Gabbard’s Director’s Initiatives Group has acted recklessly by circumventing traditional intelligence-sharing and declassification protocols,” while “ODNI officials say the CIA has consistently blocked the group’s access to intelligence.” Smart money says the ODNI’s troubles will accrue to Ratcliffe’s credit. . . not that Trump listens to him.
Gold Rush (cont’d): Astonishing details continued to emerge this week from the saga of David J. Rush, the senior CIA official accused of stealing $40 million worth of gold bars and millions in cash from the agency and squirreling them away in his home.
