By The American Tribune | Created at 2025-01-17 14:22:27 | Updated at 2025-01-20 16:51:41
3 days ago
Trump’s nominee for CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, recently called out Sen. Adam Schiff during a tense moment of his confirmation hearing over the infamous Hunter Biden laptop that Democrats aggressively downplayed in the 2020 election cycle. During his remarks, he called out Adam Schiff, a representative in the House at the time, for misrepresenting the laptop scandal.
As background, Schiff was the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in 2020 and made numerous appearances across the media, claiming Hunter Biden’s laptop amounted to a Russian disinformation campaign to influence the election. Schiff was censured over this and barred from rejoining the committee in 2022 when Republicans gained control of the House.
Ratcliffe said, “In 2020, when a chairman of an intelligence committee misrepresented that a laptop owned by then candidate Biden’s son was somehow a Russian intelligence operation and 51 former intelligence officials use the imprimatur of IC authority to to go along with that, I stood in the breach.” The nominee further illustrated his bravery in standing up for the truth.
“I stood alone and told the American people the truth about that,” he added. Ratcliffe argued that this demonstrates that he will serve his role with the utmost integrity, regardless of the challenges he faces at the intelligence agency. “So I think my record in terms of speaking truth to power and defending the intelligence community and its good work is very clear.”
He continued, “And what I can assure you is, those types of instances, if I’m in that position that CIA director and have to do that again, as uncomfortable as that can be to be accused. The truth will ultimately defend itself, and I think that intelligence will as.” Ratcliffe has been applauded for other statements he made throughout the hearing as well.
“If confirmed, my leadership at CIA will focus on setting and communicating priorities and demanding relentless execution,” he said. “Above all will be a strict adherence to the CIA’s mission. We will collect intelligence, especially human intelligence, in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult. We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our products. We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.
Echoing the sweeping conservative desire to return competence to the federal government, Ratcliffe pledged to restore meritocracy. “To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work. We must be the ultimate meritocracy,” he said.
The Trump pick vowed to employ the very best talent under his leadership at the agency, stating, “I will unapologetically empower the most talented, hardest working, and most courageous risk-takers and innovators to protect the American people and advance America’s interest, and I will not tolerate anything or anyone that distracts from our mission.”
Watch the hearing below:
BREAKING: President Trump’s nominee for CIA Director calls out Adam Schiff.
“When a chairman of an intelligence committee misrepresented that a laptop owned by Biden’s son was somehow a Russian intelligence operation… I told the people the truth.”
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaeger29) January 15, 2025
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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