Donald Trump isn’t going to like this. The man he appointed Director of National Intelligence is directly contradicting things the president said and so to the Republican Senate Majority Leader, someone who usually has Trump’s back.
Dan Coats testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday (watch above) saying ISIS and North Korea both still prove a threat. He raised a red flag on Russia as well. It was all also spelled out in a 42-page “Worldwide Threat Assessment” he issued today.
At threats hearing, DNI Dan Coats contradicted @realDonaldTrump by saying that ISIS is not defeated and that North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons. And in other news, U.S. intelligence says Russia and China are working together against us. Have a nice day.
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) January 29, 2019
Where Russia is concerned Coats writes, “We assess that Russia poses a cyber espionage, influence, and attack threat to the United States and our allies.”
Dir. of National Intelligence Coats:
"The Kremlin is stepping up its campaign to divide western, political and security institutions … We expect Russia will continue to wage its information war against democracies and to use social media to attempt to divide our societies." pic.twitter.com/h89wcBOpuV
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 29, 2019
Included in the assessment is a warning about climate change. The same climate change Trump doesn’t believe is true. Coats writes:
Climate hazards such as extreme weather, higher temperatures, droughts, floods, wildfires, storms, sea level rise, soil degradation, and acidifying oceans are intensifying, threatening infrastructure, health, and water and food security. Irreversible damage to ecosystems and habitats will undermine the economic benefits they provide, worsened by air, soil, water, and marine pollution.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is going against Trump’s call to “immediately” withdraw troops from Syria. McConnell is introducing an amendment that would suggest the troops stay put.
McConnell to rebut Trump on Syria and Afghanistan troop drawdown https://t.co/jhKfJyhHMY pic.twitter.com/bQDCc2TCkC
— The Hill (@thehill) January 29, 2019
No response from Trump yet.