US: Trump taps Truth Social CEO Nunes for intelligence role

Donald Trump on Saturday nominated former Republican Congressman Devin Nunes to chair the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

Nunes would continue his current role as the CEO of his Truth Social company if he took up the position, Trump said in a post on the same platform. 

Trump is in the process of naming various officials for his second term, starting in January, after his election win in November.

Who is Devin Nunes? 

Nunes, 51, was a Republican congressman in California from 2003 to the end of 2021.

He chaired the House Intelligence Committee from 2015 to 2019. 

During that time, overlapping with roughly half of Trump's first term, Nunes released a controversial memo alleging that the FBI had conspired against Trump during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections when Trump defeated 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 awarded Nunes the Presidential Medal of Freedom shortly before leaving office in January 2021. 

What is the President's Intelligence Advisory Board?

The President's Intelligence Advisory Board, or PIAB, was created in the mid-20th century. 

It's supposed to provide an independent source of advice on the effectiveness of the US intelligence community and its data. 

Trump said on Saturday that the board consisted of "distinguished citizens from outside the Federal Government." 

Other nominations, ABC settles defamation lawsuit

Trump also said on Saturday he was picking Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, as his presidential envoy for special missions. 

Grenell, who also served as US ambassador to Germany for part of Trump's first term, would "work in some of the hottest spots around the World, including Venezuela and North Korea," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 

The president-elect also named IBM executive and former US Department of Homeland Security official Troy Edgar to serve as the deparment's deputy secretary. 

He said that New York businessman Bill White, a donor for the 2024 campaign with a past backing Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, would become the next US ambassador to Belgium. 

Also on Saturday, US TV network ABC settled a defamation lawsuit with Trump out of court, court documents showed. 

ABC would pay a $15 million (roughly €14.3 million) "charitable donation" towards a fund dedicated to a future Trump presidential museum, as well as around $1 million in attorney fees.

The case revolved around an ABC anchor wrongly saying in a March interview with US Representative Nancy Mace that Trump had been found civilly liable for rape in New York, when it was a civil sexual abuse case, the outcome of which Trump plans to appeal. 

msh/sri (AP, Reuters)