opportunity to make that clear to every American during the Senate trial." Ratcliffe worked with the White House for several weeks prior to the Senate trial to prepare oral arguments and legal briefs. He was tapped for the position based on his legal background and effectiveness during impeachment proceedings in the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees. Director of National Intelligence Nomination President Donald Trump announced on July 28, 2019, that he intended to nominate Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence. Trump expressed confidence Ratcliffe could "rein in" intelligence agencies which he asserted had "run amok." Ratcliffe has little experience in national security or national intelligence and is reported to have demonstrated little engagement on the matters as a congressman. Trump's intent to nominate Ratcliffe became controversial when he was found to have misrepresented his role in prosecuting terrorism and immigration cases. Ratcliffe is well known for criticizing the FBI and the special counsel investigation as being biased against Trump. Ratcliffe has also alleged that Russian interference may have benefited Trump's 2016 rival candidate Hillary Clinton more than it benefited Trump. American intelligence agencies, the Senate Intelligence Committee and Robert Mueller have maintained that Russia interfered to help Trump. A week before Trump's announcement, Ratcliffe had argued that the special counsel investigation put Trump "below the law" because it declined to exonerate Trump. Later, Ratcliffe claimed on Fox News that the special counsel investigation's report was not written by special counsel Robert Mueller, but by "Hillary Clinton’s de facto legal team". Democrats asserted Ratcliffe was unqualified and too partisan to serve in such a role, which is historically considered relatively nonpartisan. Some Republicans also privately expressed discontent with his selection and concerns about his ability to be confirmed. However, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Senator John Cornyn expressed confidence in him. Democratic senators including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Ron Wyden, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said that Ratcliffe's only qualification for the office appeared to be "blind loyalty" to Trump, noting that he has promoted some of Trump's conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation and has called for prosecution of Trump's political enemies. Several former members of the intelligence community expressed concerns that Ratcliffe's appointment risked politicizing intelligence work. They expressed fear that with Ratcliffe as DNI, Trump would in effect be assuming personal control over the intelligence community, which would then