Senate confirms Clapper as intelligence chief
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/08/06/art.jamesclapper.file9.gi.jpg caption ="James Clapper was confirmed unanimously by the Senate Thursday night to be the nation's next intelligence chief."]Washington (CNN) - James Clapper was confirmed unanimously by the Senate Thursday night to be the nation's next intelligence chief.
Clapper, tapped by President Obama for the Director of National Intelligence job, will oversee the nation's 16 spy agencies.
He will be the fourth person in the position since it was created five years ago. He succeeds Dennis Blair, who was pressured to resign because of differences with the White House over the scope of his role and turf battles with the CIA director.
McCain to lift hold on confirmation of intel chief
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/27/art.mccain.star.jpg caption =" Sen. John McCain put a ‘hold’ on the confirmation of James Clapper to be the Director of National Intelligence."]
Washington (CNN) - Sen. John McCain said Monday he would lift a "hold" on the confirmation of James Clapper to be the Director of National Intelligence if he receives a report he's requested for the past 18 months.
Brooke Buchanan, McCain's spokeswoman, had said earlier in the day that the Arizona Republican would hold up a Senate vote on Clapper because he never received the report.
Later in the day, McCain said he received assurances he would get the report "tonight or tomorrow," and that once he gets it, he will lift his hold. McCain also said he was likely to vote for Clapper's confirmation.
"As an ex officio member of the intelligence committee and senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I expect when people look me in the eye and say, 'I'll get a report over to you,' that it comes over," McCain said. "That's what I really care about. Congressional oversight."
Spy chief confirmation hearing set for Tuesday
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/20/art.jamesclapper.0720y.gi.jpg caption ="The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Tuesday afternoon for Gen. James Clapper."] Washington (CNN) - The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing Tuesday afternoon for Gen. James Clapper, President Barack Obama's nominee for director of national intelligence.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees 16 intelligence agencies. The post was created following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Committee Chairman Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, had previously said she would not hold confirmation hearings for Clapper - currently the Defense Department's chief intelligence officer - until passage of a pending intelligence authorization bill.
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Spy chief confirmation hearing set for next Tuesday
Washington (CNN) - The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a confirmation hearing next Tuesday for Gen. James Clapper, President Barack Obama's nominee for director of National Intelligence, according to committee Chairman Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California.
Updated: 8:20 p.m.
Acting national intelligence chief resigning at end of August
Washington (CNN) - David Gompert, the acting director of national intelligence, has informed Congress he is resigning effective the end of August regardless of whether the new nominee for the post is confirmed, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN.
The nomination of James Clapper has been delayed because of infighting over an intelligence bill.
New spy agency chief held up by congressional infighting
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/25/art.obama.clapper.0605.gi.jpg caption=" On June 5, President Obama announced retired Gen. James Clapper (back) would be his nominee for director of national intelligence."]Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's nominee to be the nation's chief spy has been left waiting in the wings while Congress tries to complete work on a new intelligence bill that is being held up by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said she won't hold confirmation hearings for James Clapper, currently the Defense Department's chief intelligence officer, to become the next director of national intelligence until her top priority is completed - Congressional passage and the president's signature on the 2010 Intelligence Authorization Bill.
At issue is a provision in the bill that changes the ground rules for how the president notifies Congress about top secret intelligence activities.
Gates praises intelligence nominee
(CNN) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised national intelligence director nominee James Clapper on Sunday, telling reporters that President Barack Obama "could not have found a better person" for the job.
Speaking to reporters on a trip through Asia, Gates said Clapper - currently a Pentagon intelligence official - has good ties with leaders of other U.S. spy agencies and with the congressional committees that oversee them.
"He is the consummate intelligence professional who has the respect of virtually everybody in the community," Gates said.
"I think the president could not have found a better person, more experienced person, or with a better temperament to do this job and actually make it work, than Jim Clapper," he added.
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Obama nominates Clapper
(CNN) - Calling him one of America's "most experienced and most respected intelligence professionals," President Barack Obama has nominated Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper to be the new director of national intelligence.
"He possesses a quality that I value in all my advisers, a willingness to tell leaders what we need to know, even if it's not what we want to hear," said Obama. He made the announcement in the Rose Garden with Clapper on Saturday.
Clapper, who retired from the Air Force in 1995 after a 32-year career, served as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 to June 2006.
DNI pick draws early criticism
Washington (CNN) - President Obama plans to nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper to be the new director of national intelligence, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed to CNN Friday.
Clapper, now a top Pentagon intelligence official, would replace Dennis Blair, who resigned at the end of last month.
The announcement will be made Saturday at the White House, the official said.
If confirmed, Clapper will become the nation's fourth DNI in the last five years. The position was created after the September 2001 terrorist attacks to oversee the 16 agencies of the U.S. intelligence community.
Clapper, who retired from the Air Force in 1995 after a 32-year career, served as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 to June 2006. He has served as the under secretary of defense for intelligence since April 2007.
Some political observers have indicated that Clapper's prospects for confirmation on Capitol Hill, however, are questionable.
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