Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, a publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Savior in inner-city Washington.  He served 30 years as an U.S. Army Intelligence and CIA analyst, and in retirement co-founded Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

Send Mad Dog Mattis to the Corporate Kennel

“Mad Dog” Mattis was famous for quipping, “It’s fun to shoot some people.” It remains a supreme irony that Mattis was widely considered the only “adult in the room” in the Trump administration, argues Ray McGovern.

Ray McGovern
December 22nd, 2018
By Ray McGovern
December 22nd, 2018
James Mattis | James Mattis | Secretary of Defense

Outgoing Defense Secretary Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis was famous for quipping, “It’s fun to shoot some people.” It remains a supreme irony that Mattis was widely considered the only “adult in the room” in the Trump administration. Compared to whom? John Bolton, the rabid neocon serving as national security adviser? That would be the epitome of

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Senator Richard Burr: a Longtime Fan of Torture

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr allowed Gina Haspell her to “classify” her own direct role in waterboarding and other torture techniques so that it could be kept from the public and secure her confirmation

Ray McGovern
August 13th, 2018
By Ray McGovern
August 13th, 2018
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., right, questions CIA nominee Gina Haspel, left, during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill, May 9, 2018 in Washington. Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP

Newly released official documents obtained by the National Security Archive showing that CIA Director Gina Haspel directly supervised waterboarding at the first CIA “Black Site” simply confirm what Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-NC) already knew as he orchestrated the charade that was Haspel’s confirmation hearing.  Burr

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Ahed Tamimi’s Hard Earned Heros’ Welcome

Welcome home, Ahed and Nariman.

Ray McGovern
July 31st, 2018
By Ray McGovern
July 31st, 2018

When they left prison on Sunday Ahed Tamimi and her mother Nariman received a hard-earned heros’ welcome from Palestinians and others opposed to Israel’s occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands seized in 1948 and enlarged by the Israeli army in 1967. Ahed was 16 years old last December when an Israeli soldier shot her cousin in the

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The Gray Lady Thinks Twice About Assange’s Prosecution

Though The New York Times itself has not reported it, it’s No. 2 lawyer told a group of judges that the prosecution of Julian Assange could have dire consequences for the Times itself, explains Ray McGovern.

Ray McGovern
July 27th, 2018
By Ray McGovern
July 27th, 2018
Julian Assange greets supporters outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Friday May 19, 2017. Sweden's top prosecutor says she is dropping an investigation into a rape claim against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after almost seven years. Assange took refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London in 2012 to escape extradition to Sweden to answer questions about sex-crime allegations from two women. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Well, lordy be. A lawyer for The New York Times has figured out that prosecuting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange might gore the ox of The Gray Lady herself. The Times’s deputy general counsel, David McCraw, told a group of judges on the West Coast on Tuesday that such prosecution would be a gut punch to free speech, according to Maria

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Moon-Strzok No More, Lisa Page Spills the Beans

The meaning of a crucial text message between two FBI officials appears to have been finally explained, and it’s not good news for the Russia-gate faithful, as Ray McGovern explains.

Ray McGovern
July 23rd, 2018
By Ray McGovern
July 23rd, 2018

Former FBI attorney Lisa Page has reportedly told a joint committee of the House of Representatives that when FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok texted her on May 19, 2017 saying there was “no big there there,” he meant there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It was clearly a bad-luck day for Strzok

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Memo to the President Ahead of Monday’s Trump-Putin Summit

Ray McGovern and Bill Binney have written an open letter to President Trump ahead of Monday’s summit.

Ray McGovern
July 15th, 2018
By Ray McGovern
July 15th, 2018
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit at the G20 Summit, July 7, 2017, in Hamburg. (AP/Evan Vucci)

With Friday’s indictments of Russian intelligence officers, Ray McGovern and Bill Binney have written an open letter to President Trump making clear that the “evidence” behind the indictments is as fraudulent as the intelligence alleging WMD in Iraq. It is being published exclusively here ahead of the Trump-Putin summit on Monday. BRIEFING FOR:

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Did James Comey and Senator Mark Warner ‘Collude’ on #Russiagate?

The U.S. was in talks for a deal with Julian Assange but then FBI Director James Comey ordered an end to negotiations after Assange offered to prove Russia was not involved in the DNC leak, as Ray McGovern explains.

Ray McGovern
June 27th, 2018
By Ray McGovern
June 27th, 2018
julian assange

An explosive report by investigative journalist John Solomon on the opinion page of Monday’s edition of The Hill sheds a bright light on how Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and then-FBI Director James Comey collaborated to prevent WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange from discussing “technical evidence ruling out certain parties [read Russia]” in the

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