James Clapper’s turbulent tenure as director of national intelligence was defined by combating whistleblower Edward Snowden’s National Security Agency revelations and defending his own integrity after those disclosures contradicted his statements to Congress. Clapper is only the fourth director of national intelligence, a position nominally atop the 16 intelligence agencies but without significant budgetary or operational authority over them. Clapper held numerous senior positions in the intelligence community throughout his decades-long career, including the leadership of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, before serving as Gates’s undersecretary of defense for intelligence. Top officials, officials who reported to Director Clapper, repeatedly misled the American people and even lied to them,” Wyden said. A new director of national intelligence can “build an intelligence community leadership team that will put a high value on collaboration”, they wrote, and advise Trump on appointing new heads of the component intelligence agencies.

Source: The Guardian November 17, 2016 15:23 UTC