The Trump administration is considering a plan to curb intelligence sharing with nations that criminalize homosexuality, according to acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
"We can't just simply make the moral argument and expect others to respond in kind because telling others that it's the right thing to do doesn't always work," Grenell said in an interview, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Grenell, believed to be the first openly gay cabinet member, has included anti-discrimination issues near the top of his agenda. Last year, while he was the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Grenell began assembling gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender groups from the United States and around the world as part of an administration push to change anti-gay laws.
Grenell has reached out to work with the Harvey Milk Foundation on decriminalization, according to Stuart Milk, head of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in a major American city. Milk said he does not believe Grenell has "a lot of deep support" in the administration but he believes him to be "very sincere."
However, Grenell said he has President Donald Trump's "total support," as "this is an American value, and this is United States policy."
Almost 70 countries criminalize homosexuality, including some key U.S. intelligence partners like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Kenya.
Grenell would not comment about whether the administration plans to pull back current intelligence sharing or withholding additional cooperation. Intelligence officials said his office is forming a group to review the issue and develop ideas, reports The Times.
“If a country that we worked in as the United States intelligence community was arresting women because of their gender, we would absolutely do something about it,” Grenell said. “Ultimately, the United States is safer when our partners respect basic human rights.”
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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