Former Indiana lawmaker and member of the Senate intelligence committee has been banned from entering Russia: ‘I’m not a big fan of Putin’.
President-elect Donald Trump will appoint the former Indiana senator Dan Coats as director of national intelligence, it was reported on Thursday. The pick could be announced later this week, according to a person briefed on the decision who spoke to the Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. The New York Times and Washington Post also reported the nomination, citing Trump transition officials speaking anonymously. Coats, a member of the Senate intelligence committee as an Indiana legislator from 2011 to 2017, has held several positions that put him out of step with the emerging Trump administration. Whereas Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin have expressed mutual respect, leading many in the US and Russia to expect a diplomatic thaw, Russia banned Coats from entering the country in 2014, to retaliate against US sanctions. Coats proclaimed himself “honored” to be blacklisted.