Article snippet: MORE’s declaration that he would accept dirt on his 2020 opponents from foreign governments is threatening his already strained relationships with the intelligence and law enforcement communities. Former law enforcement and intelligence officials said the president’s words could hamper efforts to combat foreign interference in next year’s elections and that they dampen morale. “People in the intelligence community are going to be increasingly concerned that the president of the United States is not fulfilling the constitutional role of commander in chief and chief executive,” said Steven Cash, an ex-CIA officer and former chief counsel to Sen. MORE (D-Calif.) The remarks come at a precarious time for an intelligence community that is already subject to an investigation launched by Trump into the origins of the Russia investigation. Trump authorized the Justice Department to interview CIA officers as part of the probe — a decision that reportedly rankled career intelligence officials. And he granted Attorney General MORE the power to declassify information related to the investigation. The investigation is part of a long pattern in which Trump has questioned whether the intelligence community can be trusted. He has repeatedly accused it of spying on him during the 2016 campaign. Trump’s suspicions of the intelligence community also appear to be broad-based. This week, he pledged not to use CIA informants against North Korean leader MORE, a remark he later walked b... Link to the full article to read more