Former intelligence director James Clapper is writing a book
NEW YORK — James Clapper, the former director of National Intelligence who has clashed with President Donald Trump, has a book deal.
Viking told The Associated Press on Thursday that Clapper, 76, will write about his 6 1/2 years as head of National Intelligence during President Barack Obama’s administration and his long career in military and government service. The book is currently untitled and scheduled for 2018.
Clapper, who stepped down at the end of Obama’s second term, will cover everything from the killing of Osama bin Laden to the intelligence documents leaked by Edward Snowden. According to Viking, Clapper also will give “the truth” about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump has disputed such stories and said that Clapper agrees with his assertion that the Trump campaign did not collude with the Russians. Clapper has said he was not in a position to know about collusion, but believes the Russians did attempt to influence the campaign, a view widely held in the intelligence community.
He has also criticized the president for firing FBI Director James Comey and said that democratic institutions were “under assault” by Trump. Clapper said in a statement Thursday that he will offer a “warts and all” account of his experiences and that friends had urged him to tell his story. Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, said in its announcement that Clapper will address such issues as transparency in government and the ethics of intelligence gathering and will “counter the narrative about surveillance of American citizens.”