51 Facts About James Clapper

James Clapper served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1992 until 1995.

James Clapper was the first director of defense intelligence within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and simultaneously the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

James Clapper served as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from September 2001 until June 2006.

On June 5,2010, President Barack Obama nominated Clapper to replace Dennis C Blair as United States Director of National Intelligence.

James Clapper was unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the position on August 5,2010.

In November 2016, James Clapper resigned as director of national intelligence, effective at the end of President Obama's term.

James Clapper's father worked in US Army signals intelligence during World War II, retiring as a colonel in 1972 then worked in security at George Mason University in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

James Clapper's maternal grandfather, James McNeal Wheatley, was an Episcopal minister.

James Clapper graduated from Nurnberg American High School in West Germany in 1959 where his father was stationed at the time.

James Clapper earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Maryland in 1963 and a Master of Science degree in political science from St Mary's University, Texas in 1970.

James Clapper served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia where he commanded a signals intelligence detachment based at a listening post in Thailand's Udon Thani Province, and flew 73 combat support missions in EC-47s, including some over Laos and Cambodia.

James Clapper launched an initiative to reorganize intelligence analysis by specialists in enemy weapons rather than specialists in countries and regions.

The initiative failed because it created functional stovepipes which "reduced the coherence of the analytic effort", whereupon James Clapper decided to restore the original organizational structure using strong regional elements.

James Clapper retired from active duty as a lieutenant general after thirty-two years of service in September 1995.

James Clapper then spent six years in private industry, including two years as president of the Security Affairs Support Association, an organization of intelligence contractors.

From 2006 to 2007, James Clapper worked for GeoEye and was an executive on the boards of three government contractors, two of which were doing business with the NGA while he served as director.

James Clapper worked for SRA International and Booz Allen Hamilton.

James Clapper was the second person ever to hold this position, which oversees the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested to President Obama that he nominate Clapper to replace Dennis C Blair as Director of National Intelligence, but both Chairman Dianne Feinstein and Vice-chairman Kit Bond of the US Senate Intelligence Committee offered reservations regarding his appointment due to his military background and emphasis on defense-related issues.

In late October 2010, James Clapper's office disclosed the top line budget as $53.1 billion, which was below the $75 billion figure circulated in 2010, in the belief the budget change would strengthen the DNI's authority.

In December 2012, James Clapper authorized the NSA to expand its "third party" relationship with Saudi Arabia.

James Clapper made "intelligence integration" across the Intelligence Community the primary mission of the ODNI.

James Clapper said that "I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful manner by saying no" when he testified.

In January 2014, Robert S Litt, general counsel to the Office of the DNI, stated that Clapper did not lie to Congress, citing the context of the question and the fact that Clapper's staff had answered the question in writing the day before.

In May 2015, Litt clarified that James Clapper "had absolutely forgotten the existence of" Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, and claimed he had been thinking of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act when he gave the answer.

In January 2014, six members of the House of Representatives wrote to President Obama urging him to dismiss James Clapper for lying to Congress, stating his statement was "incompatible with the goal of restoring trust" in the intelligence community, but were rebuffed by the White House.

In March 2014, James Clapper signed a directive that barred employees of the intelligence community from providing "intelligence-related information" to reporters without prior authorization, even to provide unclassified information, making a violation of the directive a "security violation".

In June 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against several defendants including James Clapper challenging the intelligence community's bulk collection of metadata.

In September 2015, The Guardian reported that according to an unknown former intelligence official, James Clapper was in frequent contact with Brigadier General Steven Grove, who was said to be one of the subjects of the Inspector General's review.

In November 2016, James Clapper resigned, effective at the end of President Obama's term in January 2017.

In June 2017 James Clapper commenced an initial four-week term at the Australian National University National Security College in Canberra that includes public lectures on key global and national security issues.

James Clapper was expected to take part in the ANU Crawford Australian Leadership Forum, the nation's pre-eminent dialogue of academics, parliamentarians and business leaders.

In May 2018, James Clapper expressed his support for CIA Director-designate Gina Haspel.

In June 2017, James Clapper opined that Trump-Russia scandal is more serious than the Watergate scandal of the 1970s.

In December 2017, James Clapper said that Russian President Vladimir Putin "knows how to handle an asset, and that's what he's doing with" President Trump.

In February 2019, James Clapper said he agreed with former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe's opinion that President Donald Trump could be a "Russian asset".

In May 2017, James Clapper said that Russia is the primary adversary of the United States.

James Clapper explained why he believes the Russians are so dangerous:.

In February 2011, when mass demonstrations were on the verge of toppling Hosni Mubarak's presidency in Egypt, James Clapper told the House Intelligence Committee during a hearing that:.

In March 2011, James Clapper was heard at the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services commenting on the 2011 Libyan civil war that "over the longer term" Gaddafi "will prevail".

In February 2016, James Clapper cited the activities of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Islamic State and "homegrown extremists" as major threats to the United States.

In March 2017, James Clapper said on NBC's Meet the Press that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had not obtained a FISA court order allowing the FBI to tap Trump Tower, rebutting Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims that President Barack Obama personally ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower before the November election.

James Clapper said that he saw no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

In May 2017, James Clapper was criticized by some media outlets for a xenophobic remark in an interview with Chuck Todd from Meet the Press.

James Clapper told NBC's Meet the Press that Russians are "almost genetically driven" to act deviously.

On October 26,2018, the New York Times reported that an explosive device addressed to James Clapper was delivered to CNN offices in Manhattan.

James Clapper was portrayed by Jonathan Banks in the two part series The Comey Rule.

In 1965, James Clapper married Susan Ellen Terry, a former National Security Agency employee.

James Clapper has a brother, Mike James Clapper of Illinois, and a sister, Chris.

James Clapper introduced them at his Senate confirmation hearings on July 20,2010.

James Clapper holds an honorary doctorate in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College, Washington, DC, where he taught as an adjunct professor.