It’s no secret: A CIA book looks at the tree’s relationship with Trump

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This is not exactly classified information that former President Donald Trump and the intelligence community disagree on. But in an updated book, Getting To Know The President, the story is told from within.

The author is a former CIA officer, John Helgerson, who spent 38 years at the agency. The publisher is the CIA’s in-house research center. And the book is available for free on the CIA website.

Helgerson is straight to the point: “For the intelligence community, Trump’s move [from candidate to president] is by far and most difficult in its historical experience in briefing new presidents. “

Helgerson said the only comparable case is that of President Richard Nixon, who is highly suspicious of intelligence agencies and generally ignores them, while Trump regularly fights them publicly and privately.

During his heavy ties with the national security community, Trump revolved around numerous national security advisers, national intelligence directors and defense secretaries.

But this account quotes insiders, such as Trump’s regular briefer for the first two years of his presidency, CIA veteran Ted Gistaro. Gistaro said of Trump and the leather-bound briefing book, “He held it. He didn’t really read anything.”

James Clapper was the director of national intelligence responsible for Trump’s briefing as he moved from candidate to president in late 2016 and early 2017. He said Trump was prone to “fly on tangents ; there may be eight or nine minutes of real intelligence in an hour’s discussion. “

Clapper said the intelligence community’s traditional way of doing business didn’t work well with Trump because he had “absurd” evidence that didn’t cut it to him. “

Former CIA officer David Priess was a briefer during the administration of former President George W. Bush and wrote his own book on the subject, The Book of Presidential Secrets.

He said the revelation that surprised him the most was that “President Trump, in the first few weeks of his administration, was not uttered throughout the [CIA’s] secret action programs of the previous administration, which on Inauguration Day, became President Trump’s secret action programs. “

Different presidents have different styles

All presidents have personal preferences for receiving daily briefings. The end product is the work of the entire intelligence community, although the CIA plays a key role in document compilation under the supervision of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Some presidents preferred oral briefings, others preferred to read the printed version. President Barack Obama was the first to read it on an iPad.

But in general, presidents often receive briefings on weekdays.

Trump received oral briefings two or three times a week at the beginning of his presidency.

“The single country that has caused the most discussion with the president during this period is China,” Helgerson wrote. “North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs are key topics … Similarly, the occupation has continued with developments in Ukraine and Russia; Trump has followed closely.”

But in the latter part of his term, Trump’s routine was to call for only two 45 -minute briefings a week, Helgerson said.

The author says Trump did not receive intelligence briefings in the last turbulent month of his presidency in late December 2020 to January 20 of this year.

“After the 2020 election, briefings also continued over a period of time. When [CIA briefer Beth] Sanner said goodbye to the president before he went to Mar-a-Lago for the holidays, he commented that he would see it later. The briefings will continue on Jan. 6 but nothing is scheduled after the attack on the Capitol, ”Helgerson wrote.

The book was published by the CIA

Helgerson wrote the first edition of this book in 1996, when he was still working at the agency. (He retired in 2009.) He reviews intelligence briefings for presidential candidates and new presidents and updates the book with each new administration. The new version is the fourth edition and includes a 40-page chapter entirely dedicated to Trump.

The book is published by the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence, an integral part of CIA research, which publishes declassified material in book form and on the CIA website.

These acts are not very official documents, but they are insider accounts published with the blessing of the CIA.

Trump has had many battles in the intelligence community, and those in Russia are the most impressive.

One of the most important dates is January 6 not this year, when the Capitol was demolished, but four years ago: Jan. 6, 2017.

That day, after Trump won the election, and two weeks before he was sworn in, top intelligence leaders traveled from Washington to New York to give a briefing to the president -elect at the Trump Tower.

Much of the discussion focused on Russia’s intervention in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in which intelligence leaders insisted the evidence against Moscow was overwhelming.

But at the end of the meeting, James Comey, then FBI Director, told Trump about the Steele Dossier, made by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

Comey stressed that the material did not come from U.S. intelligence and the claims have not been confirmed but Trump should know that the document is circulating so that he is not blinded.

In our analysis, the dossier is extremely problematic, with fraudulent claims being discredited. But Trump always seems to be responsible for U.S. intelligence, and this has set the tone for a very difficult relationship.

Greg Myre is an NPR national security correspondent. Follow him @gregmyre1.

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