A CIA analyst who had worked at the intelligence agency since 2006 has quit, citing an inability to serve President Donald Trump's administration "in good faith."
"Despite working proudly for Republican and Democratic presidents, I reluctantly concluded that I cannot in good faith serve this administration as an intelligence professional," wrote Edward Price, a former spokesman for the National Security Council, in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday.
Price described his journey from being a dedicated CIA operative to the moment where he submitted his formal resignation as being driven by his growing unease with Trump's lack of respect and trust for U.S. intelligence agencies.
According to the former analyst, he first noticed this attitude in presidential debates during the campaign and watched with an increasing sense of discomfort as Trump hardened his stance toward the agencies once in power, culminating in an address given by the president during a visit to CIA headquarters on his first full day in office in which Price says Trump bragged about his inauguration crowds.
"Trump's actions in office have been even more disturbing. His visit to CIA headquarters on his first full day in office, an overture designed to repair relations, was undone by his ego and bluster," Price said.
"Whether delusional or deceitful, these were not the remarks many of my former colleagues and I wanted to hear from our new commander in chief. I couldn't help but reflect on the stark contrast between the bombast of the new president and the quiet dedication of a mentor — a courageous, dedicated professional — who is memorialized on that wall."
"I know others at CIA felt similarly," he added.
Price described the "final straw" as the White House's release of a directive reorganizing the National Security Council in January which saw the CIA director and the director of national intelligence removed from the NSC's principals committee and the president's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, included. Due to a public outcry the CIA director was subsequently reinstated.
Read the full Washington Post article here.