Spy chiefs in revolt over Trump demand for master list of every secret agent – fearing one catastrophic risk
CIA and FBI leaders are resisting Donald Trump’s directive that the intelligence agencies prepare a master list of every U.S. spy and potential recruit out of fear it would endanger their own agents.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), led by Trump loyalist Bill Pulte, has spearheaded major spy list efforts in recent months. ODNI was established after 9/11 to promote better communication between intelligence agencies.
Trump wants the master list because officials argue it could be used to better track foreign intelligence threats and prevent unintentional conflicts when different agencies are working on the same targets, according to the New York Times.
The effort largely failed as senior counterintelligence officials refused to hand over their master list due to disagreements over how to secure and maintain such a database.
Such a master list of espionage targets for the FBI would include people the bureau wants to investigate and potentially arrest.
For the CIA, this would include a significant number of potential individuals the agency hopes to recruit as assets.
Some current and former intelligence officials fear that releasing personally identifiable information into the most sensitive cases could fatally compromise long-running investigations and operations with a single leak.
The identities of these targets are closely guarded national security secrets, isolated from most personnel within their agencies.
Trump demands leaders at the FBI and CIA give him a list of all undercover agents and assets
The effort largely failed as senior counterintelligence officials refused to hand over their master lists due to disagreements over how to secure and maintain such a database.
Trump’s new director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, has no previous experience in national security
The Daily Mail has contacted the ODNI for comment.
The fight over the master list highlights the tense relationship between the ODNI and the FBI and CIA following the departure of former ODNI director Tulsi Gabbard.
Pulte, a political appointee with no prior experience in national security, continued to pursue the President’s agenda by reducing the office’s workforce and investigating allegations of election fraud in 2020.
Outrage over Pulte’s appointment as acting director despite his lack of experience also raised fears among agency officials about how he would handle ODNI’s most closely guarded secrets.
