Change of Tone for Trump? Views from The Cipher Brief Network
The bombastic, bleak tone from his Inaugural Address was gone. In his address to Congress Tuesday night, President Donald Trump was more optimistic, talking about […] More
Trump
Intelligence and the Trump Administration
There has been much said about how often President-elect Donald Trump takes his Presidential Daily Brief (PDB), the Intelligence Community’s (IC) assessment of key national […] More
Howard Baker’s Words and the Flynn Controversy
“What did the President know and when did he know it?” For those of us who went through Watergate, that question, first posed by Sen. […] More
Flynn Controversy Raises New Questions
The White House sought to present the resignation of President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, as a closed chapter tied to his deceiving […] More
The Tip of the Iceberg
The resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn came only three weeks into a whirlwind beginning for the Trump Administration. The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani […] More
A Matter of Trust, Not Security
With the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, there have been questions about the security implications of his conversations with the Russian Ambassador to […] More
Dialing Up Controversy with China
On Thursday February 9th, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had their first phone call. Accounts from both sides described the call as […] More
Questions Remain Until Trump Makes Russia Intentions Clear
President Donald Trump has never shown much interest in foreign policy issues. The few consistent themes he has supported are to defeat ISIS, restructure trade […] More
America First Equals America Last
The world got a taste last week of what “America First” means: insulting Iraqis who’ve risked their lives with U.S. forces; blacklisting dual-citizen legislators in […] More
Very Mixed Results So Far in Trump-Led Shake-Up
The shake-up that Donald Trump voters wanted when they put him into the Oval Office has begun – with very mixed results. Trump’s ill-prepared, travel […] More
Trump So Far: The Middle East View
When Donald Trump was elected as the 45th U.S. President, there was reason for some comfort amongst the United States’ traditional Arab allies in the […] More
Cipher Brief Experts Question Trump's National Security Actions
President Donald Trump has wrapped his initial actions in office in the name of keeping the United States safe, but several experts and former top […] More
Advice to Trump from the Georgetown Salon: “The Russians Understand Force”
Two former CIA officers with decades of experience offered up some advice to President Donald Trump on how to deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir […] More
Reality Has Got to Set In: The Trump Administration and the Defense Budget
For a moment, try to ignore President Donald Trump’s tweets and rambling speeches and let’s look at what the Trump administration may be thinking about […] More
Cybersecurity: Time for Action
U.S. failure to fully develop and implement a comprehensive cyber security strategy created the perfect opportunity for Russia to attack the Democratic National Committee computer […] More
Follow Obama's Lead on Cybersecurity
In the fall of 2008, a bipartisan group of cybersecurity experts delivered some sage advice to Barack Obama, set to become president in January: “Don’t […] More
Trump's Hour of Action: Recommendations for Cyber Policy
President Donald J. Trump’s Administration has suggested massive overhauls in a number of policy areas, but few have remained as shrouded in uncertainty as Trump’s […] More
“America First” From Now On, New U.S. President Proclaims
A dramatic, and sometimes controversial, campaign and transition period culminated Friday in Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th president of the United States. In his […] More