CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world’s most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.
Behind the scenes: Trump had spent his last year in office ruminating over Haspel. Some of the president’s hardcore allies, including Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, were publicly raising doubts in his mind about Haspel. Continue reading.