MSNBC Security Analyst: Trump Wants Russian Cyber Attack on 2020 Election

NBC and MSNBC Security Analyst Jeremy Bash offered a grim assessment of President Donald Trump’s recent decisions about the intelligence community. The former Department of Defense chief of staff told Morning Joe that Trump wasn’t interested in defending the country.

Co-host Willie Geist asked Bash about reports that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is nearing a ‘meltdown’.

“There’s dire concern,” Bash said. “I’ve also talked to folks inside the intelligence community over the last 24 hours and a couple of additional notes. First of all, not only is [Richard] Grenell in and [Joseph] Maguire out but they’re cleaning house.”

“Andrew Holman, who’s been serving as the principle deputy DNI, a career professional, who served at CIA, served as a PDB briefer, he was also shown the door and told today would be his last day.”

“You have the entire leadership of the Director of National Intelligence decapitated,” Bash said. “And there was word last night that a Devin Nunes staffer potentially would be coming over to take a leadership role in the DNI’s office. This is all an effort to squash any information at all about a Russian cyber attack on our 2020 election, because if the Russians are attacking our election processes and they’re doing so to benefit Donald Trump, I think frankly the President welcomes is it.”

“He wants it. He doesn’t want his intelligence community defending us. He doesn’t want the intelligence warning against us. He certainly doesn’t want Congress understanding it, because Heaven forbid, they might actually help protect our democracy against this attack.”

“He welcomes it. Last time, he requested, he received that benefit, he benefited from it, he welcomed it and he rewarded it, he rewarded Vladimir Putin. This is nothing short of the president of the United States wanting, wanting this attack to occur.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.