Dead Drop: October 9

TOLD YA:  The lead item in the February 3, 2017 Dead Drop reported on rumors that the then-two-week-old Trump administration was considering installing “liaison officers” to the front offices of the component parts of the Intelligence Community to ensure “consistency of message.” We hadn’t heard anything about the plan since – until now.  Politico reports that the White House quietly installed retired Army Major General Bert Mizusawa in the office of the Agency’s Chief Operating Officer earlier this year. Politico cites unnamed “current and former officials” as saying Mizusawa, who was a Trump campaign advisor in 2016, was placed there “to generally keep and eye on Director Gina Haspel and the inner workings of the agency.” CIA Press Secretary Tim Barrett told Politico that Mizusawa “serves as a senior adviser on national security technology, bringing his deep expertise to CIA’s mission. Any notion that he was ‘installed’ here is ridiculous.” Politico notes that Trump allies have expressed frustration with Haspel in recent weeks and some speculate Mizusawa might replace here in a possible second Trump term.

STRAIGHT POOP ON WORLD LEADERS: With the health of President Trump dominating the news in recent days, there has been a lot of talk about how foreign governments monitor the well-being of various heads of state. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Cipher Brief Expert, Admiral James Stavridis issued a tweet noting that the “only people working harder than the media today to find out how ill the President and senior staff members might be – are foreign intelligence services.” Yahoo News quoted another TCB expert, former CIA officer Marc Polmeropoulos saying that “every intelligence service will have their operational directive.” We would do the same thing if the tables were turned.  Yahoo cites an example from the 1980s where a team of CIA officers was tasked with collecting samples of Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos urine and feces. We’re confident however, that the folks at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center had the presidential loo locked down.