Saying He Doesn’t Trust U.S. Intelligence, Trump Brings Adviser With Russian Ties to Classified Briefing

Trump Says He ‘Won’t Use’ Nation’s 16 Intelligence Agencies ‘Because They’ve Made Such Bad Decisions’

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump is set to receive his first classified briefing in New York City on Wednesday.

But Trump is already suggesting that he’ll disregard any intelligence he obtains from senior government officials. 

Asked by Fox & Friends whether he trusts U.S. intelligence, Trump said: “Not so much from the people that have been doing it for our country. I mean, look what’s happened over the last ten years. … It’s been catastrophic. Very easy to use them, but I won’t use them because they’ve made such bad decisions.” 

Instead of relying on the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies, Trump has apparently decided to put his faith in a top adviser with ties to the Russian government. Joining Trump for the briefing will be Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who was recently paid by a state-funded Russian TV network to speak at its 10th-anniversary gala. 

On Tuesday, Fox News’ John Roberts said Flynn would be on hand to “interpret the reports” because “the Trump campaign is not confident of the quality of the intelligence they will receive.”