Trump gives allies Devin Nunes and Richard Grenell key roles

WASHINGTON - US President-elect Donald Trump on Dec 14 named his social media platform chief executive Devin Nunes to lead an intelligence advisory panel, and said his former intelligence chief Richard Grenell would run “special missions” in places such as US adversaries Venezuela and North Korea.

“Ric will work in some of the hottest spots around the world, including Venezuela and North Korea,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, referring to Mr Grenell.

“Ric will continue to fight for peace through strength, and always put America first.”

Trump did not name any other specific countries such as Iran in his post, naming Mr Grenell as the “presidential envoy for special missions”.

Mr Grenell previously served as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s 2017 to 2021 term, and was Trump’s ambassador to Germany and a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.

Mr Nunes, a former US lawmaker who runs Trump’s Truth Social platform, will serve as chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which offers independent assessments of intelligence agencies’ effectiveness and planning.

The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board is a White House panel that offers the president independent assessments of intelligence agencies’ effectiveness and planning.

A long-time Trump defender who led the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee during part of Trump’s first White House term, Mr Nunes will remain as Truth Social chief executive officer while serving on the White House panel, Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social, which is part of the Trump Media and Technology Group.

As committee chair, Mr Nunes alleged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had conspired against Trump during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, in which Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“Devin will draw on his experience as former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and his key role in exposing the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, to provide me with independent assessments of the effectiveness and propriety of the US intelligence community’s activities,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Mr Kash Patel, served as an aide to Mr Nunes in the US House of Representatives.

A 2017 US intelligence report said Russian President Vladimir Putin had directed a sophisticated influence campaign to denigrate Mrs Clinton and support Trump in the 2016 election campaign. The Kremlin denied meddling, and Trump denied any collusion with Russia.

Trump has vowed to pursue political adversaries and officials who investigated him when he begins his second term on Jan 20. 

Trump on Dec 14 also named IBM executive and former US Department of Homeland Security official Troy Edgar to serve as the department’s deputy secretary.

He also said he would nominate businessmen Bill White and Edward Walsh to serve as US ambassadors to Belgium and Ireland, respectively. REUTERS