Trump adviser Bannon loses place on security committee
DONALD TRUMP last night removed his influential chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council.
It reversed a controversial decision to give Mr Bannon access to the group’s high-level foreign policy meetings and was seen as a victory for Lt Gen H R McMaster, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, in a behind-the-scenes power struggle.
It came as Mr Trump accused Susan Rice, Barack Obama’s former national security adviser, of “committing a crime” by seeking the identities of his associates who had appeared incidentally in intelligence reports.
When US citizens appear in surveillance of foreign officials their identities are “masked” in intelligence reports but Ms Rice could request their unmasking for national security reasons.
Asked if he thought Ms Rice had done something criminal, Mr Trump told the New York Times: “Do I think? Yes, I think. I think it’s going to be the biggest story. It’s such an important story for our country and the world. It is one of the big stories of our time.”
Ms Rice said: “The allegation is that somehow the Obama administration officials utilised intelligence for political purposes. That’s absolutely false.”
Mr Bannon’s removal from the NSC emerged in a new memo published in the Federal Register.
The memo no longer lists Mr Bannon as a member of the principals committee, a group of high-ranking officials that convene to discuss pressing national security issues.
According to the document the Di- rector of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have returned to the committee.
Mr Bannon’s role had led to criticism that it was inappropriate for a political adviser to play such a key role on national security matters.
Ivanka Trump has defended herself against accusations that she is “complicit” in her father’s administration, insisting that she voices her disagreements strongly in private.