Trump just lost a truly qualified candidate to lead the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

[Turtleneck]

Just kidding. He wanted to give a senior intelligence position to Peter Thiel, a billionaire supporter with no experience in the intelligence community. Thiel turned down the position.

The PayPal cofounder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel recently withdrew his name from consideration to lead the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, according to two sources with direct knowledge of what happened.

Thiel informed the White House of his decision earlier this month, said one of the sources. Both spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations.

Asked about Thiel’s withdrawal, his spokesman Jeremiah Hall declined to comment. A White House spokesman did not immediately comment.

Although Thiel told The New York Times in January that he didn’t want a job in the administration, Vanity Fair reported in September that Thiel was in discussions to lead the PIAB, a panel which oversees U.S. intelligence agencies and advises the president. Previous chairs include Brent Scowcroft, under George W. Bush, and Chuck Hagel, who co-chaired the body under Barack Obama. It’s unclear how far the process went before Thiel backed out, though one of the sources said the process for vetting Thiel for a security clearance had begun.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/11/peter-thiel-doesnt-want-intelligence-advisory-post/547100/?utm_source=twb