[ad_1]
WASHINGTON: Two former top U.S. intelligence officials, Michael Morell and Avril Haines, have become top contenders for the post of Director of National Intelligence or head the CIA in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, multiple officials said. current and previous intelligence
Morell served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the Obama administration from 2010 to 2013, and during that time he also served two terms as acting director of the agency.
Haines, served as deputy director of the CIA and as deputy director of national security for President Barack Obama, the sources said.
Haines declined to comment and Morell could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for Biden’s transition team declined to comment.
Some former Democratic aides have raised concerns about Haines and Morell because they served in the CIA when the agency used “enhanced interrogation” techniques on suspected Islamist militants, practices that a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation has called torture.
Other names being discussed by both the Democratic Party and intelligence officials as possible candidates for Director of National Intelligence include Michael Leiter, a former DNI official and former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, a branch of the DNI office, and Mike. Rogers, a former Republican. A congressman who chaired the House Intelligence Committee, the sources said.
