Apology to Colin Powell Also in his book, Morell apologized to former Secretary of State Colin Powell for the CIA's erroneous assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. Morell noted that Powell had said repeatedly that no one from the Agency had ever apologized for sending him to speak to the United Nations with incorrect intelligence and that Morell thought it time that someone did so. Endorsement of Hillary Clinton for president In an August 2016 op-ed for The New York Times, Morell endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Stating that he was registered with neither the Democratic nor Republican parties and that he had always been silent about his political preferences, Morell stated that Donald Trump was "not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security." Morell left his job as a CBS News analyst before making the endorsement, but rejoined CBS News after the election. In a subsequent Q&A article with The New York Times, Morell responded to allegations that his current employer, Beacon Global Strategies, was co-founded by "former associates" of Hillary Clinton, by saying it was a non-partisan firm and that he had spoken out "entirely on [my] own, with no other consideration given any thought." Chelsea Manning controversy In September 2017, Morell resigned from his senior fellowship at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government as a result of Chelsea Manning's appointment as a senior fellow there. Morell noted that he was fine with Harvard inviting Manning to speak on campus but that he was not okay with her being given the honor of a senior fellowship at one of America's most prestigious institutions. After Morell and others objected, Harvard rescinded its offer to Manning. China In 2017, Morell was appointed to serve on the National Defense Strategy Commission, a congressionally created body designed to give Congress an independent view of America's defense needs. The group's final report concluded that US defense capabilities were eroding relative to those of China and Russia. Briefing book In early 2019, Morell, along with fellow former Acting and Deputy Director of the CIA John E. McLaughlin, brought together a group of former CIA, NSA, and FBI officers to produce a briefing book on a dozen or so key national security issues facing the nation. Morell and McLaughlin provided the book to