Last week Dan Coats
Daniel (Dan) Ray CoatsLobbying world President Trump: To know him is to 'No' him Avoiding the 1876 scenario in November MORE, the director of national intelligence, said it was “frustrating” to hear “rumors” about being fired by President Trump
Donald John TrumpBiden pulls ahead of Trump in Georgia Biden takes lead in Georgia, makes gains in Pennsylvania Gore: This election is 'completely different' than 2000 MORE.
They were more than rumors.
On Sunday, Trump confirmed via Twitter that Coats is leaving his position on Aug. 15.
Officially, Coats is resigning — but no one really doubts that he has been pushed out by the president.
The president had already met with aides in late July to figure out a replacement, according to several news reports.
Coats fell out of favor with Trump for publicly confirming Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Trump appointee also raised eyebrows at a conference when he revealed Trump failed to consult with him before extending an invitation to the White House to Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinJimmy Kimmel 'shocked' at Trump vote total: 'I overestimated the American people' Biden begins two-day campaign sprint in battleground Pennsylvania Trump, Biden trade insults as they duke it out in key battlegrounds MORE.
Now Coats is on the way out, just for doing his job. That has got to be frustrating.
But it is Coats's proposed replacement that takes this story beyond frustrating and straight to outrageous.
Trump will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe
John Lee RatcliffeOfficials on alert for potential cyber threats after a quiet Election Day Federal official says voting security remains strong as polls begin to close Hillicon Valley: Officials express confidence in voting security amid early technical glitches | Unidentified robocall told millions to 'stay home' ahead of Election Day: report | QAnon's danger rises with divisive election MORE (R-Texas) to fill the role. Ratcliffe is a pure political player.
He is a direct threat to the nonpartisan reputation of America’s intelligence agencies and to their ability to protect the country by producing unbiased, first-rate information.
He auditioned for the role last week, when he subjected Robert Mueller
Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE to harsh questioning when the former special counsel appeared before Congress.
Ratcliffe absurdly accused Mueller of having failed to respect "the bedrock principle of our justice system ... a presumption of innocence," when it came to Trump.
At the second of two hearings that day, Ratcliffe pumped conspiracy theories and innuendo into the congressional record, as he quizzed Mueller about the Steele dossier and the FISA warrant against former Trump aide Carter Page.
These are two red herrings that Trump allies have consistently used to try to discredit Mueller — and to downplay the threat from Russia.
Yes, that John Ratcliffe is now the nominee to be director of national intelligence.
It could have been even worse. Another name reported to have been in the mix was Rep. Devin Nunes
Devin Gerald NunesDevin Nunes fends off Democratic opponent in California Trump pushing to declassify document disputing intel findings on Russia: report Sunday shows preview: Coronavirus cases surge in the Midwest; Trump hits campaign trail after COVID-19 MORE (R-Calif.).
This is the mudslinger who lied by saying he had evidence to support Trump’s claim that President Obama “wiretapped” Trump during the 2016 election.
Nunes’s claim to fame comes from his eagerness to promote Trump’s “deep state” and “witch hunt” narratives about the intelligence agencies. The goal is to undermine the credibility of their findings that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win.
Ratcliffe and Nunes are enablers for Trump, allowing the White House to turn a blind eye to ongoing Russian interference.
Together, they and other allies of the president promoted baseless charges that Trump’s critics told lies that led to the U.S. counterintelligence probe into Russia’s ties to the Trump campaign.
Their goal remains distracting people from the reality that Russians repeatedly met with Trump aides and spent millions on social media to damage Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonNearly 57 million tune in election night, down 20 percent from 2016 Here's why Trump made gains with Florida's Hispanic voters Biden win would leave GOP poised for 2024 comeback MORE.
Instead of facing that ugly truth, Ratcliffe, Nunes and Trump continue to feed conspiracy theories to right-wing websites and conservative talk radio.
Nunes came to Congress in 2003 — a time when Republicans hurled words like “treason” and “unpatriotic” at anyone who dared to criticize then-President George W. Bush’s administration over the Iraq War and its handling of the war on terror.
But after election interference in 2016, 2018 and going into 2020, we are now in a 21st century cyberwar with Russia.
Should we be calling Nunes’s patriotism into question?
“The Russians are absolutely intent on trying to interfere with our elections,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to Congress the day before Mueller asserted that the Russian interference is ongoing.
“It wasn’t a single attempt,” Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee last week. “They’re doing it as we sit here.”
Wray emphasized that the U.S. has — even now — not done enough to deter Russian interference.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantisWas it faulty science or ethnocentrism that worsened the pandemic? Here's where the National Guard is activated on Election Day Feehery: The single-issue voter MORE, a Republican, said in May Russian hackers had breached voting systems in two counties in his state. We still don’t know which counties were affected — or what, if anything, is being done to protect those systems.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett SchiffDevin Nunes fends off Democratic opponent in California Trump begins Election Day with confident predictions on Fox News The Memo: Tense and fractured nation braces for Election Day MORE (D-Calif.) recently said he had been unaware that three Senate races had been attacked by Russia.
Earlier this year, former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen
Kirstjen Michele NielsenThe 'Anonymous' saga ended with a dud — a perfect example of the problem of Trump-era media Who is 'Anonymous' author Miles Taylor? CNN's Cuomo asks Miles Taylor why network should 'keep you on the payroll' after lying about op-ed MORE was reportedly told by White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney
Mick MulvaneyMulvaney says he 'absolutely' expects Trump to run again in 2024 if he loses Mulvaney says Trump will 'absolutely' facilitate peaceful transition of power if Biden wins Gaffes put spotlight on Meadows at tough time for Trump MORE not to mention Russian interference in front of Trump for fear it would upset him by calling into question the legitimacy of his presidency.
But wait, it gets worse.
Hours after Mueller’s impassioned plea, Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellThe Memo: Trump hits out as tide moves for Biden Senate Republicans sit quietly as Trump challenges vote counts George Floyd's brother: Biden 'deserves a chance to prove himself worthy' MORE (Ky.), blocked three bills passed by the House of Representatives to safeguard U.S. elections from foreign interference.
Should we be calling into question the patriotism of every Republican who last week voted against the election security bills?
McConnell dismissed the bills as “partisan” and its authors as promoters of a “conspiracy theory.”
“This is an issue of patriotism, of national security, of protecting the very integrity of American democracy, something so many of our forbears died for. And what do we hear from the Republican side? Nothing,” said Sen. Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerHarry Reid rips Lindsey Graham over Trump: 'He went to the dark side' after McCain died Democrats on edge as Biden-Trump fight nears end Reestablishing American prosperity by investing in the 'Badger Belt' MORE (N.Y.), the top Democrat in the Senate.
“To this day, Mr. Trump refuses to acknowledge the seriousness of Russian intervention, and the Republican-controlled Senate is unwilling to consider legislation for enhanced election security — maybe because doing either could be seen as an admission that the election was tainted,” the New York Times editorial board correctly pointed out.
“Conceding the obvious might seem like a small price to pay. But the president appears more concerned with nursing his ego than safeguarding American democracy — and that puts us all, Republicans, Democrats and independents, at risk.”
Let history record that a delusional president, concerned only with his own ego, and a traitorous Republican Congress, concerned only with their own reelections, chose to ignore Mueller.
Instead, Ratcliffe is the president's nominee to head national intelligence.
God save us.
Juan Williams is an author, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.
