COATS OFF: In a long expected move, President Trump has received the resignation of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, the last man standing from Trump’s original national security team, which included Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis, and H.R. McMaster, who have all departed in favor of advisers more committed to carrying out the president’s prerogatives.

In his resignation letter , Coats thanks Trump for the “distinct privilege” of serving as DNI and says he has “overseen the selection of new, extremely capable leaders” and transformed the focus and structure of the Intelligence Community “to ensure you have the best, most timely, and unbiased intelligence possible.”

“As we have previously discussed, I believe it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life,” Coats wrote. “Therefore, I hereby submit to you my resignation effective August 15, 2019.”

RATCLIFFE IN: Making the announcement on Twitter yesterday, President Trump thanked Coats for “his great service to our Country” and announced the “highly respected Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas will be nominated” to be his next DNI. “A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves.”

Ratcliffe — a Republican in his third term with a 100% conservative rating from Heritage Action but no intelligence experience — gained sudden notoriety for his spirited defense of President Trump and personal attacks on former special counsel Robert Mueller during last week’s House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Ratcliffe accused Mueller of violating the bedrock legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty” by including in his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election instances of possible obstruction of justice without ever alleging any crime was committed.

“You managed to violate every principle in the most sacred of traditions about prosecutors not offering extra-prosecutorial analysis about potential crimes that aren't charged,” said Ratcliffe, his voice rising with emotion. “Volume Two of this report,” Ratcliffe said, “was written in violation of every DOJ principle about extra-prosecutorial commentary.”

“I agree with the chairman this morning when he said, ‘Donald Trump is not above the law.’ He's not. But he damn sure shouldn't be below the law, which is where Volume Two of this report puts him,” Ratcliffe concluded, his time up. Mueller did not respond.

FAMOUSLY OUT OF THE LOOP: Coats seemed at times to be out of the loop and out of step with his boss, something that was famously on display at last year’s Aspen Security Forum, when he was blindsided by an announcement made by NBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

“I do want to say we have some breaking news,” Mitchell said as she prepared to interview Coats July 19. “The White House has announced on Twitter that Vladimir Putin is coming to the White House in the fall.”

“Say that again,” Coats said, nervously laughing.

“Vladimir Putin coming,” repeated Mitchell, as Coats interrupted, clearly surprised by the news.

“Yeah, I heard you,” he said. And then, after a short awkward pause, Coats quipped, “That's going to be special,” evoking laughter from the audience.

SORRY TO SEE HIM GO: House and Senate leaders in both parties reacted with dismay to the news of Coats’ departure, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying it “is bad news for the security of America.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was “very sorry to learn” Coats would be leaving, while Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would oppose Trump’s nomination of Ratcliffe.

“It’s clear that Rep. Ratcliffe was selected because he exhibited blind loyalty to President Trump with his demagogic questioning of former special counsel Robert Mueller,” Schumer said Sunday. “If Senate Republicans elevate such a partisan player to a position that requires intelligence expertise and non-partisanship, it would be a big mistake.”

INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS: In an appearance on Fox News Channel yesterday, before his nomination was announced, Ratcliffe told host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures that it’s time to investigate the origins of the investigation of Trump.

“What I do know, as a former federal prosecutor, is it does appear that there were crimes committed during the Obama administration,” he told Bartiromo. “We talked earlier about Michael Flynn. His phone call with the Russian ambassador was a highly classified NSA intercept. Someone in the Obama administration leaked that call to the Washington Post. That's a felony.”

Ratcliffe said the faith and trust of the American people in the Justice Department has been shaken, and it’s up to the attorney general to restore it. “The only way to get that back is, therefore, to be real accountability with a very fair process,” he said. “Again, I have supreme confidence in Bill Barr's ability to deliver that.”

Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre ( @jamiejmcintyre ) and edited by Kelly Jane Torrance ( @kjtorrance ). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense .

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HAPPENING TODAY: The Pentagon holds a full honors arrival ceremony for Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Zaki at 9:30 a.m. The Pentagon made a special note of saying that the salute and tribute to Zaki would be “with cannons,” marking the return to a tradition of staging large ceremonial welcome ceremonies, including a review of the troops, for visiting dignitaries, which had been largely dropped during the tenure of JIm Mattis.

ALSO TODAY: The Senate is likely to attempt to override the President Trump’s veto of the bipartisan effort by Congress to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but Senate Republican leaders expect the effort to fall short.

While the trio of measures enjoys bipartisan support in both chambers, neither chamber can provide the two-thirds supermajority required to override a presidential veto, writes Susan Ferrechio in the Washington Examiner.

ALSO THIS WEEK: The Senate is expected to pass, over strident objections from some Republican deficit hawks, the massive $1.3 trillion two-year budget deal hammered out between Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The agreement suspends the debt ceiling until July 2021 and provides $320 billion in new spending, with $738 billion for the Pentagon for the coming fiscal year, $5 billion more than House Democrats proposed but $12 billion less than the $750 billion agreed to by the Senate.

INHOFE ON BOARD: Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Jim Inhofe has endorsed the deal, even though he says he would have liked to see more funding for defense.

Writing in a commentary for Fox News, Inhofe cited the independent report from the National Defense Strategy Commission, which calls for 3% to 5% of real growth each year. “It’s what President Trump requested in his budget and it’s what the Senate-passed defense policy bill provided,” Inhofe writes. “But at the end of the day, this funding provides minimal growth to give our military what it needs and will allow the Department of Defense to plan strategically for the future.”

R.I.P., SEQUESTER: “Most importantly, we’ve removed the threat of sequestration forever. Never again will these arbitrary cuts, which former Secretary of Defense Mattis described as worse than any enemy in the field, be wielded by Democrats to extract wins for their liberal agenda,” Inhofe said.

Democrats argued that funding for the military would not have dropped under President Barack Obama if Republicans had done what they are doing now, namely agreeing to increase domestic spending along with the Pentagon’s budget.

GIVING TURKEY A PASS: President Trump doesn’t want to punish Turkey for purchasing advanced anti-aircraft weaponry from Russia, putting him on a collision course with Republican lawmakers who want to rebuke the wayward NATO ally.

“Turkey’s relationship with Russia, particularly their acceptance of the S-400 missile system, creates national security risks for the United States and our NATO allies,” Florida Republican Rick Scott, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Examiner. “I have serious concerns about allowing Turkey to continue to enjoy the protections of NATO while cozying up to Moscow.”

Trump has expelled Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, depriving Ankara of the world’s most advanced warplane. But there’s a strong appetite on Capitol Hill for additional punitive measures.

HYTEN’S HIGH-WIRE TEST: Air Force Gen. John Hyten, President Trump’s nominee to be vice chairman of the joint chiefs, faces a perilous confirmation hearing tomorrow. He has categorically denied accusations of sexual misconduct levied by a former aide and has answered questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee behind closed doors. Tomorrow he’ll face tough questioning in public over his version of events.

Last week his accuser, Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, went public, telling the New York Times that once she found out Hyten was not retiring but instead nominated to be the nation’s second-highest ranking military officer, “I realized I have a moral responsibility to come forward.”

Spletstoser told the Times that Hyten came to her hotel room while both were at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California and sat on her bed in front of the TV and asked her to sit next to him.

“According to her account, General Hyten reached for her hand. She became alarmed, and stood back up. He stood up too, she said, and pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips while pressing himself against her, then ejaculated, getting semen on his sweatpants and on her yoga pants,” the Times reported.

UNEQUAL TREATMENT: The “he said, she said” case has provoked outrage among advocates for victims of sexual assault. In an email, retired Air Force Col. Don Christensen, president of Protect Our Defenders, echoed comments he made to the Times comparing the case to the rape of Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, a retired Air Force A-10 squadron commander.

“McSally disclosed she was raped by an unnamed superior officer at an undisclosed time and undisclosed location 20 years after she was raped. McSally received an official apology from the Air Force,” Christensen said.

Spletstoser, who told the Pentagon “who it was, when it occurred and where it occurred,” and cooperated fully with the investigation and agreed to testify, “received no apology,” Christensen said. “Instead, the Pentagon praised the man she says sexually assaulted her. … If this were Staff Sgt. Hyten, he’d be getting charged. The only reason he wasn’t charged is because he’s General Hyten.”

MINIMUM FULL DISCLOSURE: On his first day on the job last Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced he had he directed his public affairs assistant Jonathan Hoffman to issue department-wide guidance urging more engagement with the American public and the news media.

As if to underscore the limits to this new transparency initiative — and without any acknowledgment of the obvious irony of the request — Hoffman’s memo was released over the weekend to reporters, who were asked politely by an unnamed duty officer not to post the one-page memo in its entirety. There are, it seems, limits to how much transparency is considered a good thing.

In the memo, Hoffman notes the Pentagon’s “long history of openness and transparency” and its “obligation to engage with the public through a variety of channels.” He says Esper wants “departmental leaders to more actively engage with the public” and “strongly encourages” them to “seek out engagement on policies and operations in your domains through formal and informal channels.”

Hoffman’s memo comes with three rules for better engagement (I’m paraphrasing here, so as not to violate the admonition not to post the entire text):



Use good judgment to avoid divulging anything would compromise operational security or disclose information that should remain private even if it’s not classified. Stay in your lane. Don’t talk about things above your pay grade. Coordinate your message with his public affairs office so the Pentagon can “present a clear voice” and “ensure your outreach is successful.”

No mention yet of any plans to resume regular weekly press briefings, which stopped 14 months ago.

Oh, and Pentagon reporters were told that when Esper meets with his Egyptian counterpart today, he will take no questions from the press. Without regular briefings, the exchange at the beginning of a meeting with a visiting defense ministers was one of the few times reporters could ask about news of the day.

NORTH KOREA NUKES: One topic that Esper will avoid having to address is a report in the Wall Street Journal that cites various independent analysts who conclude that North Korea has ramped up production of long-range missiles and the fissile material used in nuclear weapons.

The Journal reports that Siegfried Hecker, a Stanford University nuclear scientist who has visited North Korea’s nuclear facilities, says North Korea might be capable of producing six or seven nuclear bombs a year. “In total, Pyongyang could currently possess between 20 and 60 nuclear bombs, according to estimates by various security analysts,” the article states.

TAKING THE CASE TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE: Secretary of State Mike Pomepo says fair is fair. If Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif can come to the U.S. and argue his case to the American people in multiple media appearances, then Pompeo ought to have the chance to talk directly to the Iranian people.

“I recently offered to travel to Tehran and speak directly to the Iranian people. The regime hasn't accepted my offer,” Pompeo tweeted last night. “We aren't afraid of @JZarif coming to America where he enjoys the right to speak freely. Are the facts of the @khamenei_ir regime so bad he cannot let me do the same thing in Tehran? What if his people heard the truth, unfiltered, unabridged?”

NEW JCS DIR: With the departure of Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie to head U.S. Central Command, a new director of the Joint Staff has been named. Current Vice Director Air Force Maj. Gen. Glen VanHerck will get his third star and take over the position, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The Rundown

New York Times: “I have a moral responsibility to come forward.” An Army colonel says she was sexually assaulted by one of President Trump’s top military nominees.

Washington Examiner: US warns Europe not to develop barter system to evade Iran sanctions

Washington Post: Emergency talks on nuclear deal constructive but inconclusive, Iranian minister says

AP: Supreme Court: Trump can use Pentagon funds for border wall

Washington Post: As Afghan election campaign opens, insurgents attack office of Ghani’s top running mate

AP: Turkey determined to destroy ‘terror corridor’ in Syria

Wall Street Journal: U.S.-China Talks Set Modest Goals

Reuters: China To Conduct Military Drills In Waters Near Taiwan

Air Force Times: Aircraft mission-capable rates hit new low in Air Force, despite efforts to improve

Air Force Magazine: Fast-Forward with 5G

Reuters: U.S. air strike kills suspected IS coordinator in Somalia

Washington Post: Trump’s ‘Made in America’ media campaign puts Lockheed Martin in the spotlight

Virginia Pilot: SEAL Team 6 member charged with impersonating someone to get nude photos

USA Today: Opinion: Is there a values crisis in special operations forces? National security could be at risk

Air Force Magazine: USAF Looking for Feedback to Redesign Maternity Uniforms

Washington Post: Opinion: No, military spending is not bankrupting us

Calendar

MONDAY | JULY 29

9 a.m. 1150 22nd Street N.W. Economic Club of Washington discussion with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and David Rubenstein, president of the Economic Club, on Iran, North Korea, Russia, China, the EU, and international trade. www.state.gov

9 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Military Helicopters USA. Speakers include Marine Deputy Commandant for Aviation Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, Army Lt. Col. Ryan Miedema, deputy commander of operations of the 128th Aviation Brigade, and Navy Capt. Scott Starkey, chief of staff of Naval Air Training. www.idga.org/events

9 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Fighter USA conference. Speakers include: Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord and Air Force Gen. Charles Brown, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces. www.idga.org/events

9:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Brookings Institution discussion on "U.S.-China Relations: The View from Cities and States,” with Gov. Kate Brown, D-Ore.; James Fallows, national correspondent for the Atlantic; Los Angeles, Calif., Deputy Mayor of International Affairs Nina Hachigian; former Gov. Bob Holden, D-Mo., chairman and CEO of the U.S. Heartland China Association; Reta Jo Lewis, director of congressional affairs at the German Marshall Fund of the United States; and Ryan Hass, chair in foreign policy in the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy. www.brookings.edu/events

9:30 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Arms Control Association discussion on "A Critical Evaluation of the Trump Administration's Nuclear Weapons Policies,” with retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration; Corey Hinderstein, vice president of international fuel cycle strategies at the Nuclear Threat Initiative; Lara Seligman, Pentagon correspondent at Foreign Policy; Kingston Reif, director for nonproliferation policy at ACA; and Thomas Countryman, chairman of the board at ACA. www.armscontrol.org/events

11:00 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies conversation with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, on U.S. security sector assistance efforts in the nation. www.csis.org/events

1:30 p.m. 2201 C Street N.W. The State Department celebrates of the establishment of the department 230 years ago. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers keynote remarks, Deputy Secretary Dan Sullivan introduces a video featuring several former secretaries of state, and Henry Kissinger engages in conversation with his official biographer, Niall Ferguson. www.state.gov

TUESDAY | JULY 30

8:30 a.m. 1399 New York Ave. N.W. Hoover Institution discussion on “U.S. Iran Policy,” with Dr. Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University and a research fellow at Hoover. www.hoover.org

8:50 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Military Helicopters USA conference (Day 2), with Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen, director of the Army Futures Command's Future Vertical Life Cross-Functional Team. www.idga.org/events-militaryhelicoptersusa

8:50 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Fighter USA conference (Day 2), with Air Force Maj. Gen. Kevin Kuyck, director of operations at Headquarters Air Combat Command. www.idga.org/events-internationalfighterusa

10 a.m. SD-G50 Dirksen. Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing to consider Gen. John Hyten’s nomination to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

10 a.m. 1030 15th Street, N.W. Atlantic Council discussion “Managing the Escalating Crisis in the Gulf,” with former Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman James Cartwright, CSIS; Ali Shihabi, founder, the Arabia Foundation; Dov Zakheim, senior fellow, CNA Corporation. Moderated by Joyce Karam, Washington correspondent, the National. www.atlanticcouncil.org/events

WEDNESDAY | JULY 31

8:50 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Military Helicopters USA conference (Day 3), with Randy Rotte, director of business development for cargo helicopters and future vertical lift programs at Boeing, and Carvil Chalk, director for aviation development at the U.S. Army Combat Capability Development Aviation and Missile Center. www.idga.org/events-militaryhelicoptersusa

8:50 a.m. 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria. Institute for Defense and Government Advancement International Fighter USA conference, (Day 3), with Air Force Maj. Gen. David Krumm, director of strategic plans in the Air Force Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements. www.idga.org/events-internationalfighterusa

9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies conference on "Are Sanctions Working" against North Korea, Russia, Iran, and Venezuela, with Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelkar. and Peter Flanagan, partner at Covington & Burling LLP. www.csis.org

9:30 a.m. SD-G50 Dirksen. Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Vice Adm. Michael Gilday’s nomination to be chief of naval operations. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Brookings Institution discussion on "Assessing Space Security: Threat and Response,” with former Principal Deputy National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Madelyn Creedon; former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Arms Control Verification and Compliance Mallory Stewart; former Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Frank Rose; Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. www.brookings.edu/events

2:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on "5G Innovation and Security: Perspectives from Industry and Government Leadership”, with Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Director Christopher Krebs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy Robert Strayer, and FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. www.csis.org/events/5g-innovation

THURSDAY | AUGUST 1

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on challenges in making generational changes in military systems, with Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell, and Andrew Philip Hunter, director of the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group. www.csis.org/events

3 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion on "Japan's Security Challenges and the Japan-U.S. Alliance,” with Gen. Koji Yamazaki, chief of staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces Joint Staff, and Michael Green, Japan chair at CSIS. www.csis.org/events

6:30 p.m. 1325 G Street N.W. Military Reporters and Editors (MRE) Workshop: Investigative Reporting on the Military, with John Donnelly, senior defense writer, CQ/Roll Call, MRE president; Lara Seligman, Pentagon correspondent, Foreign Policy; Sam LaGrone, Naval reporter and editor, USNI News. www.eventbrite.com/e/mre-workshop Live streamed at www.facebook.com .

FRIDAY | AUGUST 2

2:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies "Japan-U.S. Military Statesmen Forum 2019,” with retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Michael Mullen; retired U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Vincent Brooks; retired Japanese chief of staff Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki; retired Japanese chief of staff Gen. Ryoichi Oriki; retired Japanese chief of staff Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano; former director of national intelligence Adm. Dennis Blair; and Yoichi Funabashi, chairman of the Asia Pacific Initiative. www.csis.org/events