Pulte’s appointment as spy chief would give Trump attack dogs access to ‘crown jewels’

President Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Peult as acting director of national intelligence will give the president’s Housing Authority attack dogs access to the nation’s most sensitive secrets, but analysts worry the move could further politicize the agency and undermine U.S. intelligence gathering.

President Trump on Tuesday named the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to replace outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Mr. Pulte had no national intelligence experience and was an investor and executive at a home construction company. pluto group before joining the government. As Director of National Intelligence, Mr. Pruitt will be the head of America’s vast intelligence community and will have access to the country’s most sensitive state secrets.

That lack of experience and Mr. Pulte’s tendency to use intelligence from the Housing Authority to plot prosecutions of President Trump’s political opponents has alarmed intelligence analysts and members of Congress alike, who have warned that Mr. Pulte could weaponize the Office of the President against the president’s domestic political opponents and undermine trust in U.S. intelligence agencies.

“This is the latest example of an amateurish and absurd mission by President Trump in his second term,” said Brett Bruen, a former diplomat and National Security Council official under Obama who now runs the Global Situation Room. “This poses the very real possibility that we will see our intelligence structures and systems further eroded and our intelligence role used in more inappropriate and even illegal ways.”

Mr. Bruen said the move would elevate Mr. Pulte from receiving “cafeteria-style classified information” to the crown jewel of the best-guarded secret.

This includes highly sensitive intelligence gathering activities and access to information about human intelligence sources and surveillance tools.

The White House defended Trump’s choice when asked about Pruitt’s qualifications and concerns that he would weaponize U.S. intelligence.

“The president selects the brightest and most talented individuals to serve in his Cabinet,” White House Press Secretary Davis Ingle said in an email. “That’s why this administration has achieved record success on behalf of the American people. Bill Pelt was a great pick, and he will do a great job representing the American people.”

During his role at the Housing Authority, Mr. Pulte used his access to mortgage records to refer several of President Trump’s leading opponents to prosecution.

The Justice Department indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who previously prosecuted Trump, on bank fraud charges, but the charges were later dismissed. Pruitt’s criminal referral of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on similar charges prompted President Trump to try to remove her from office, and the case is still pending before the Supreme Court.

“We have seen Mr. Pruitt aggressively seek to use sensitive personal information by disclosing private mortgage information and weaponizing it against the president’s adversaries,” said Larry Pfeiffer, a former White House Situation Office senior director and chief of staff to former Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden. Pfeiffer is currently the director of the Hayden Information Center at George Mason University.

“Do we want to give this man access to all of our nation’s deepest and most sensitive national security secrets right now?” Pfeiffer asked. “i don’t think so.”

Pfeiffer said Pruitt’s appointment would give him access to “all the information that the U.S. intelligence community produces.”

“These are tools that could easily be directed against American citizens,” he said, referring to surveillance options, calling them “the most powerful surveillance tools of any nation in the world.”

“Technically, there’s nothing that prevents us from pointing them at the American people,” Pfeiffer said.

Gabbard sparked concern among lawmakers in January after she showed up at an FBI raid on a Georgia election office.

Pruitt’s choice also speaks to how President Trump views the former CIA director who heads the Office of National Intelligence, he told CNBC. He requested anonymity to discuss concerns about the information.

“Appointing his dog symbolizes that he has no respect or need for the DNI,” said the CIA veteran.

Pruitt’s appointment has sparked alarm on Capitol Hill. She can serve as acting spy director for 210 days, but the Senate must approve a permanent replacement for Gabbard.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., gave a tepid response to Pruitt’s nomination in brief remarks to reporters Tuesday.

“We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need experts there,” Thun told reporters at the Capitol, when asked if he was concerned that Pruitt would use the perch to weaponize information against the president’s domestic adversaries.

Thune said he was seeking more information from the White House “about its current thinking regarding that position.” Mr. Thune said Mr. Pulte would have a “long road ahead” if the White House wanted him to serve full-time.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who recently lost a Senate primary because President Trump endorsed his opponent, also questioned Prut’s choice.

“I see no evidence that he is qualified for the job,” he told reporters at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party watered down Pulte’s nomination.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) said President Trump “selected officials who have shown not only a willingness but an eagerness to use government authority to pursue political retribution.”

“What is concerning is not only that Mr. Pruitt lacks the ‘extensive national security experience’ required by job descriptions established in the wake of the 9/11 intelligence failure that left thousands of Americans dead, but also that he appears to have been chosen because the White House believes he will provide the narrative it wants, not the information we need,” Warner said in a statement.

But it’s less clear whether Congress has the means to activate Mr. Prut before the 210-day deadline expires.

The law that created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stipulates that a successor in the event of a vacancy “shall have extensive national security experience and management expertise.” It also states that the current Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lucas, “acts for and exercises the authority of the Director of National Intelligence in his or her absence or disability, or during any vacancy in the office of Director of National Intelligence.”

“Will someone take (Trump) to court over this appointment? Maybe,” Pfeiffer said, but warned that Pruitt’s time clock would likely run out before the lawsuit progressed. “I don’t think it’s an effective tool.”

— Eamon Javers contributed to this report.

Correction: Bill Pruitt can serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence for 210 days. A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the time period.