Feb 21, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Retired admiral who oversaw bin Laden raid defends outgoing intelligence chief

Orion Rummler

In this image, Joseph Maguire walks down a hallway while wearing a tie. — Acting DNI Joseph Maguire walks to a congressional briefing at the Capitol on Jan. 8 in D.C. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, defended former acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire in a Washington Post op-ed on Friday.

What he's saying: "...in this administration, good men and women don’t last long. Joe was dismissed for doing his job: overseeing the dissemination of intelligence to elected officials who needed that information to do their job," McRaven writes.

"Over the course of the past three years, I have watched good men and women, friends of mine, come and go in the Trump administration — all trying to do something — all trying to do their best. Jim Mattis, John Kelly, H.R. McMaster, Sue Gordon, Dan Coats and, now, Joe Maguire, who until this week was the acting director of national intelligence."

— William McRaven's Friday op-ed in the Post

Driving the news: President Trump confirmed on Wednesday that he will install Richard Grenell, the current U.S. ambassador to Germany and a staunch defender of the president, as the next acting director of national intelligence.

Go deeper: Trump to install loyalist Ric Grenell as acting intelligence chief

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Retired admiral who oversaw bin Laden raid defends outgoing intelligence chief

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