On Tuesday, President Trump issued an executive order announcing a large number of personnel appointments. One of them is of particular interest.
In the executive order, President Trump announced a total of 42 appointments. One of the appointments, named Ezra Cohen (Ezra Cohen), drew attention.
The executive order appointed Ezra Cohen to serve as a member and chair of the Public Interest Declassification Board.
Ezra Cohen, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, is currently the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security, according to publicly available information.
Watnick, born in 1986, is 34 years old.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 and worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence after graduation.
He began his career with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2010, serving in Miami, Haiti, Virginia and Afghanistan. He received his CIA training at Camp Peary (commonly known as “The Farm”);
In 2014, he joined the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters;
He left DIA in 2017 to join President Trump’s National Security Council, where he was named senior director of NSC intelligence programs.
Watnick was allegedly brought into the NSC by General Michael Flynn.
It was Watnick who discovered and reported that the Trump campaign had been under surveillance by the U.S. intelligence community, and subsequently, the surveillance of the Trump campaign ordered by former President Barack Obama came to light.
In May 2017, Watnick and the FBI’s assistant director for counterintelligence reportedly advocated for strong law enforcement action against Chinese Communist government officials who conducted operations against Chinese dissidents and asylum seekers in the United States, over the objections of Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton. Watnick reportedly accused Thornton of “improperly impeding law enforcement efforts to address repeated violations of U.S. sovereignty and law by the Chinese [Communist] state.”
After Flynn’s resignation in February 2017, new national security adviser H. R. McMaster attempted to remove Waternick, but was overruled by President Trump, who tried to replace Waternick with senior CIA official Linda Weissgold.
On Aug. 2, 2017, the White House announced that it had fired Watnick.
In April 2018, he rejoined the Trump administration’s Justice Department to advise Attorney General Sessions on counterterrorism and counterintelligence.
In May 2020, Watnick was named deputy assistant secretary of defense for drugs and global threats;
In September, he has been promoted to acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.
On November 11, he took over as Under Secretary for Intelligence and Security.
At this particular moment in history, it will be interesting to see what role Watnick, who has such exceptional experience and is trusted by President Trump and General Flynn, will play.
Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) Function.
On the official website of the National Archives and Records Administration, the function of the Public Interest Declassification Board is to.
“To advise and make recommendations to the President and other executive branch officials on the systematic, coordinated, and comprehensive identification, collection, review of declassified and release of declassified records and materials of historical value, including those of special public interest and not detrimental to the national security of the United States.
Promote the fullest possible, accurate, and reliable public access to the documentary record of major U.S. national security decisions and activities to support the oversight and legislative functions of Congress; support the decision-making role of the Executive Branch; respond to public interest in national security matters; and promote reliable historical analysis and new avenues of historical research on national security matters.
Advise the President and other Executive Branch officials on Executive Order policies related to the classification and declassification of national security information.
Review and make recommendations to the President on requests from congressional committees of jurisdiction to declassify certain records or to reconsider denials of declassification of specific records. “
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