“I am pleased to announce that I have invited the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Bill Burns, to serve as a member of my Cabinet.”

President Joe Biden
(July 21 2023)

July 23 2024 — On Friday, President Joe Biden elevated CIA Director William Burns to his Cabinet. As a Cabinet member, Burns will serve alongside Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, whose office sets direction for the entire U.S. intelligence community. If History is any guide, this is a mistake. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

“The President’s announcement today recognizes the essential contributions to national security the Central Intelligence Agency makes every day, and reflects his confidence in our work. I am honored to serve in this role, representing the tremendous work of our intelligence officers. It is also an honor to serve alongside our exceptional intelligence community colleagues, under the leadership of DNI Avril Haines.”

Statement By CIA Director William J. Burns on Invitation to Join Cabinet

Washington Post : “See No Evil, Hear No Evil.”

The move was reported by the Washington Post, which said it was largely symbolic and would not give Burns any new authorities.

“Most CIA directors have not been named to the Cabinet because most presidents have understood that the intelligence role is not a policy one,” said David Priess, a former CIA officer and author of “The President’s Book of Secrets,” a history of presidents and intelligence analysis.

“That said, Bill Burns — as one of the most respected Foreign Service officers of his generation before becoming CIA director, and as one of the administration’s most important international messengers during this Russia-Ukraine war — seems better suited than previous CIA directors to join the Cabinet,” Priess added. [WP : Biden elevates CIA director Burns to Cabinet member]

Let me be very clear. There is no doubt that Bill Burns is a very serious intellectual and a very able person. But that is just beside the point. Just like a person should never be both judge and party, the CIA chief should not be a cabinet member. And certainly not now when the vast majority of American people no longer trusts their law enforcement and intelligence agencies because they think — quite correctly — that these institutions have been utterly politicized.

If History is any guide…

I asked ChatGPT a simple question: Could you tell me which CIA directors were also cabinet members? Here is the answer:

“As of my last update in September 2021, no CIA director has been a member of the President’s Cabinet. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to the President and other key policymakers. While the CIA director is a high-ranking government official and works closely with the President and other cabinet members, they do not hold a formal position within the President’s Cabinet.”

That answer is simply wrong. To the best of my knowledge, William J. Casey became the first Director of Central Intelligence to take a place at the White House table as a fully participating Cabinet member. [Casey had been the manager of Reagan’s Presidential campaign in 1980 and became Director of Central Intelligence in 1981.] President Bill Clinton’s CIA director George Tenet also served in his cabinet. Tenet continued to serve as DCIA under George W. Bush. In both instances, the agency got involved in extraordinary scandals and cover-ups.

There is evidence that Casey played a role as a Cabinet-level advocate both in setting up the covert network to resupply the contras during the Boland funding cut-off, and in promoting the secret arms sales to Iran in 1985 and 1986.

Tenet played a key role in overseeing intelligence regarding weapons of mass destruction in advance of the Iraq War.[At a meeting on December 12, 2002, he assured Bush that the evidence that Iraq had WMDs amounted to a “slam dunk case”.] A 2005 Inspector General’s report found that Tenet bears “ultimate responsibility” for the United States intelligence community’s failure to develop a plan to control al Qaeda in the lead-up to 9/11. Tenet has been criticized for personally authorizing the CIA’s use of brutal and ineffective torture techniques during his tenure, in contravention of international law.

Everything to Lose, Nothing to Gain

Richard Moore — Chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) — quickly congratulated Bill Burns: “Great recognition of Bill Burns and @CIA’s extraordinary contribution to US and its allies’s security which we, at MI6, get to witness and appreciate up close.” This is just dumb. American people understand that if Burns’ nomination is such great news for MI6, it cannot be that good for them.

Surely, both Biden and Burns know that this is a bad decision. So the key question is quite obvious: What is really going on? Let me remind you that only one CIA director later became vice-president and eventually president of the United States.

REFERENCES

Statement from President Joe Biden on Director Bill Burns — The White House (July 21 2023)

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CIA director Burns to become Cabinet member

“I will never politicize the work you [U.S. Intelligence] do. You have my word on that. It’s too important for our country.”

U.S. President Joe Biden
(July 27 2021)