US President Donald Trump has defended his choice of the next national intelligence director as someone who can "rein in" intelligence agencies "out of control", raising fears that Trump wants only ratings that support his views.
Trump's choice of Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe of Texas to be the next director of national intelligence was met with a rash of fellow Republicans and accusations from former intelligence and Democrat officials that Ratcliffe was ineligible and would tailor intelligence to the president.
Ratcliffe, a member of the House Intelligence Committee for six months, will replace Dan Coates, whose assessments of Iran and North Korea and Russia's intervention in the 2016 election were opposed to Trump's views.
On his return to the White House from Virginia, Trump said yesterday that Ratcliffe "will do a great job, if he gets approval" from the Senate.
"I think we need someone like that there, we need a strong person who can restrain them because intelligence, I think you know, is out of control." Trump denied having fought a fight with Coates, saying he was "a friend of mine and a great person." But he added, "Dan made some statements and people were puzzled."
Trump has repeatedly criticized the US intelligence community since he took office, casting doubt on his conclusions that Russia's intervention in the elections was aimed at weighing his candidacy against his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Coates defended the assessment, while Ratcliffe denied evidence of Russian intervention, accused the FBI of conducting a biased investigation, and echoed Trump's baseless accusation that the administration of former President Barack Obama spied on his campaign.