Jake Tapper reported earlier today that Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair would resign as early as tomorrow.
For several weeks President Obama has been holding serious conversations about whether to ask Blair to step down and has interviewed candidates to replace him. After a discussion this afternoon between the president and Blair in the Oval Office about the best way forward, Blair offered to resign and the president said he would accept, sources told ABC News.
Multiple administration sources tell ABC News that Blair’s tenure internally has been a rocky one....
The news will not come as a surprise to those in the intelligence community. For months, Blair has turf battles while the White House made it clear that it had more confidence in others, such as counterterrorism and homeland security adviser John Brennan, taking the lead both publicly and privately.
Last November, the White House sided with CIA director Leon Panetta when Blair attempted, against Panetta’s wishes, to pick the chief U.S. intelligence officer in each country, a job that traditionally has gone to the CIA station chief.
It's possible that Obama will promote Brennan, who he wanted as CIA director originally, but who faced serious opposition at the time because of his role as a top CIA aide to Tenet during the Bush administration and his troubling record as an apologist for the CIA's torture practices. At the time, 200 of the nation's leading psychologists wrote to Obama protesting his potential nomination.
Because that opposition would very likely be raised again should Obama look to promote Brennan, he'll likely have a short list of candidates beyond Brennan to vet.
Marc Ambinder has Blair's letter sent to DNI staff announcing the resignation.
It is with deep regret that I informed the President today that I will step down as Director of National Intelligence effective Friday, May 28th.
I have had no greater honor or pleasure than to lead the remarkably talented and patriotic men and women of the Intelligence Community.
Every day, you have worked tirelessly to provide intelligence support for two wars and to prevent an attack on our homeland.
You are true heroes, just like the members of the Armed Forces, firefighters, and police whose job it is to keep our nation safe.
Your work over the past 16 months has made the Intelligence Community more integrated, agile, and representative of American values. Keep it up - I will be cheering for you.
