From Jewish official who backed Obama wiretapping theory promoted to key defense post
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEzra Cohen-Watnick, the Jewish government staffer who made headlines in 2017 for leaking intelligence to officials to back up US President Donald Trump’s false claim that former President Barack Obama had him wiretapped, has been promoted to a top Defense Department post in the aftermath of Trump’s firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
Cohen-Watnick will take over as acting undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, according to reports from Tuesday. The former official in the role, Joseph Kernan, resigned along with multiple other top department staffers after Trump fired Esper on Monday.
The new acting defense secretary, Chris Miller, said in a statement that Kernan’s departure had been planned “for months.”
— Gabe Friedman / JTA
The Times of Israel Community.