CIA Ratcliffe shrugs off concerns about potential threat of fired agents armed with secrets

CIA Director John Ratcliffe
Photo: AFP

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is unconcerned by speculation that agents who are fired under Department of Government Efficiency cuts may take the nation’s secrets to foreign adversaries.

"Any individual who would be willing to sell the Nation’s secrets to a foreign adversary has no place working at the Agency that plays an incredible role in keeping Americans safe every day," Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital in a statement.

CNN reported on Monday that mass firings and buyouts offered to agents were under discussion among CIA "top leadership," who were apparently worried that losing their jobs might prompt disgruntled former officers to take their classified intelligence to foreign intelligence services like those of China or Russia.

"You’re telling me that a professional setback could cause people to risk the consequences of treason and betray their country, and your argument is that those are the kind of people who should stay inside CIA?" a source familiar with the CIA head’s thinking added to Fox News Digital.

"There’s a general sense that it’s more of a justification for maintaining the status quo, but if potential traitors are there, it’s hard to argue the solution is for them to continue maintaining access to the nation’s secrets."

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is undeterred by alleged concerns from his rank and file that officers who are fired under federal government cuts may take the nation’s secrets to foreign adversaries.

"You’re just rolling the dice that these folks are gonna honor their secrecy agreement and not volunteer to a hostile intelligence service," an unnamed U.S. official reportedly told CNN.

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently tried to fire 51 employees who worked on diversity issues, and newer employees are potentially on the chopping block to comply with a government-wide effort to root out probationary employees before they earn civil service protection.

A judge put the diversity firings on pause after agents sued to stop them.

The CIA also offered buyouts to employees who offered to resign, in line with a government-wide push to trim the federal workforce, but it’s not clear how many employees were offered and accepted the offer.

Though the exact number of people employed by the CIA is classified, the agency is known to employ thousands who engage in covert collection and analysis of intelligence, both at its Virginia headquarters and overseas.

Foreign adversaries are known to target former U.S. intelligence officials, offering them large sums of money for the classified information they are privy to. The Justice Department has charged multiple former military and intel officials for providing information to China.

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs