US President Donald Trump has withdrawn his choice for director of national intelligence amid criticism that the Texas congressman was under-qualified.
Mr Trump tweeted that he told Texas Republican John Ratcliffe that the nomination process would be “miserable” for him due to unfair media coverage.
Mr Ratcliffe thanked Mr Trump and said he did not want the job to become “a purely political and partisan issue”.
Critics have accused Mr Ratcliffe of padding his intelligence credentials.
Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media. Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019
….John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my nomination for DNI shortly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said Mr Ratcliffe was “treated very badly, very harshly by the press” and that he believes Mr Ratcliffe “made the right decision”.
But he added the media was “part of the vetting process” for nominees, and told reporters, “a lot of times you do a very good job”.
“I give out a name to the press and they vet for me,” Mr Trump went on to say. “We save a lot of money that way. But in the case of John, I believe he was being treated very harshly and unfairly.”
Mr Ratcliffe was appointed by Mr Trump days after his aggressive questioning of former-Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the ex-FBI director who led an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Last Tuesday, after Mr Ratcliffe was picked, Mr Trump defended him as the best man to control US intelligence agencies – a frequent target of criticism by Mr Trump.
https://twitter.com/RepRatcliffe/status/1157354812054409216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1157354812054409216&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-us-canada-49200241
https://twitter.com/RepRatcliffe/status/1157354812834570240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1157354812834570240&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-us-canada-49200241
“We need somebody strong that can really rein it in, because as I think you’ve all learned, the intelligence agencies have run amok,” Mr Trump said. “They run amok.”
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the US Senate.
The position was created in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. The DNI oversees the 16 civilian and military agencies that make up the US intelligence community.
