Dafna Linzer
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adviser to the CEO. @USNews & World Report. Former Executive Editor, POLITICO; Managing Editor, Politics for NBC News & MSNBC. Proud fellow @GUpolitics.
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Articles by Dafna Linzer
Parental Guidance
Getting In Let’s Talk About College Housing The questions you and your child should be asking when you think about living arrangements. Olivier KnoxDec. 11, 2025
Best Leaders 2025: Laura J. Richardson
The first woman general to lead the U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Laura Richardson has often said that America’s strength in the world comes from a combination she refers to as “DIME” - Diplomacy, Information, Military and the Economy. The truth is, it also describes her own strengths.
Parental Guidance: Hacks to Keep the College Application Process on Track
I’m excited, and somewhat daunted, to be filling in for my wonderfully talented colleague Olivier Knox by writing the "Parental Guidance" column this week. When we first started talking about creating the "Getting In" newsletter, Olivier’s son was a newly minted college freshman and mine was a senior in his fall semester of high school, trying to juggle grades, activities and college applications. It was stressful – for him, first and foremost, and for all of us.
U.S. Drops Opposition to IAEA Chief
The Bush administration, having found no alternate candidate or support from any allies, has given up on its attempt to force out Mohamed ElBaradei as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to two U.S. officials.
Two Detail Bolton's Efforts to Punish Dissent
A former senior Bush administration official told Senate staff members yesterday that John R. Bolton, the president's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, sought to punish two State Department officials for disagreeing with him on nonproliferation issues, congressional sources said. And a former CIA chief, disputing Bolton, said the nominee had tried to fire a national intelligence officer who believed Bolton was exaggerating evidence on Cuba, they said. John S.
Bolton's Tough Style, Record Face Scrutiny
During a meeting on North Korea in late 2001, John R. Bolton's repeated talk of overthrowing Kim Jong Il frustrated the State Department's specialist on the country. "Regime change" is not President Bush's declared objective in North Korea, Charles L. Pritchard recalled telling Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.
Tillerson’s Fury at Trump Required an Intervention From Pence
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the situation at the time. The tensions came to a head around the time President Donald Trump delivered a politicized speech in late July to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization Tillerson once led, the officials said.
Who is the Daniel Richman, the 'good friend' who leaked Comey's private memo?
Comey, in testimony to the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, said his decision to have his memos shared publicly came after Trump tweeted last month that Comey had "better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!" Comey testified that he asked "a good friend of mine who's a professor at Columbia Law School" to provide the contents of a memo to an unnamed reporter. He didn't identify Richman to the committee.
Trump gave Russians secrets that news orgs are being asked to withhold
May 17, 2017, 3:20 PM UTC / Updated May 17, 2017, 3:20 PM UTC By Ken Dilanian, Courtney Kube and Dafna Linzer Some of the intelligence President Trump provided to Russian officials is so secret that American news organizations are still being asked not to report it, two U.S. officials told NBC News. The requests by U.S. intelligence officials cast doubt on the assertion by the president’s aides that the sharing was appropriate.
Israel Was Source of Intelligence Trump Shared With Russia: Sources
Israel was the source of ISIS-related intelligence that President Donald Trump shared with Russia last week, according to three government officials with knowledge of the matter.
Comey Wrote Memo Saying Trump Urged Him to Drop Flynn Investigation: Sources
Fired FBI Director James Comey wrote an internal memo saying President Donald Trump asked him to shut down an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of the memo told NBC News on Tuesday.
Obama Warned Trump Against Hiring Mike Flynn, Say Officials
Create your free profile or log in to save this article May 8, 2017, 3:10 PM UTC / Updated May 8, 2017, 3:33 PM UTC Former President Obama warned President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News. The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.
Obama warned Trump against hiring Mike Flynn, say officials - WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & Sports
Obama and Trump shake hands following their meeting in the Oval Office on Nov. 10, 2016. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP (NBC News) - Former President Obama warned President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News. The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.
Obama warned Trump against hiring Mike Flynn, say officials
Former President Barack Obama warned Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News. The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.
Trump aide Sebastian Gorka may leave the White House
A senior administration official had told The Associated Press on Sunday that Gorka was set to leave the White House in the coming days. Gorka told an NBC News reporter to email him when asked about whether he was leaving the White House.
Bolton Often Blocked Information, Officials Say
John R. Bolton -- who is seeking confirmation as the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations -- often blocked then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and, on one occasion, his successor, Condoleezza Rice, from receiving information vital to U.S. strategies on Iran, according to current and former officials who have worked with Bolton. In some cases, career officials found back channels to Powell or his deputy, Richard L.
Former Colleague Says Bolton Abused Power at State Dept.
The State Department's former intelligence chief yesterday described John R. Bolton, President Bush's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, as a "bully" who abused his authority and power, intimidated intelligence analysts, and damaged the integrity of the agency. Bolton's behavior "brings real question to my mind about his suitability for high office," said Carl W.
U.S. Finds That Iran Halted Nuclear Arms Bid in 2003
A major U.S. intelligence review has concluded that Iran stopped work on a suspected nuclear weapons program more than four years ago, a stark reversal of previous intelligence assessments that Iran was actively moving toward a bomb. The new findings, drawn from a consensus National Intelligence Estimate, reflected a surprising shift in the midst of the Bush administration's continuing political and diplomatic campaign to depict Tehran's nuclear development as a grave threat.
Bush tries to throw blame for Iraq on Obama but can't shake family legacy
CLEVELAND – Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush got a second chance on Thursday to explain why he wouldn’t have gone down the path that led his brother to war in Iraq. But during the first GOP primary debate, he sought to place the blame for Iraq’s failure on President Obama, claiming that Islamic militants took over “because of the void” created by departing U.S. troops.
Graham plays hawk and Fiorina the expert on foreign policy at debate
CLEVELAND – Lindsey Graham would deploy American troops to Syria and Iraq if he were to become president, the South Carolina senator said Thursday at a gathering of Republican candidates seeking the nation’s highest office.
Obama: Without Iran deal, we risk more war
President Barack Obama on Wednesday described the historic deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program as the best way to make the world safer and more secure, and challenged critics at home and abroad to offer an alternative that doesn’t mean war. “This deal is our best means of assuring that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon,” Obama said at a press conference in the East Room of the White House. “From the start, that has been my number one priority, our number one priority.
On Iran, no need to speculate about the alternative. We’ve already lived it.
What if the Iran deal had taken place in 2002, right after the country’s clandestine but nascent nuclear program had begun? In announcing an historic agreement, President Obama asked skeptics to consider the alternative. Without a nuclear deal, “Iran could produce, operate and test more and more centrifuges,” he said. “Iran could fuel a reactor capable of producing plutonium for a bomb.
Presidential Pardons
The Sweeping Presidential Power to Help Prisoners That Holder Didn’t Mention President Obama has the power to shorten the sentence of federal prisoners. But he has only used it once. Clarence Aaron Still Waiting for Clemency, Months after Report Found Pardon Atty Misrepresented Case The Justice Department’s Inspector General found that the Pardon Attorney misrepresented facts to the White House about a prisoner’s request for commutation.
Past Arguments Don't Square With Current Iran Policy
Lacking direct evidence, Bush administration officials argue that Iran's nuclear program must be a cover for bomb-making. Vice President Cheney recently said, "They're already sitting on an awful lot of oil and gas. Nobody can figure why they need nuclear as well to generate energy." Yet Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and outgoing Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz held key national security posts when the Ford administration made the opposite argument 30 years ago.
On Iran: 10 wasted years, one big day
The sad truth of Sunday’s nuclear agreement with Iran is that it could have come 10 years earlier and with far fewer costs. It took a Mideast war, an accelerating nuclear program, a crisis with U.N. inspectors and crippling sanctions before the sides started talking. More importantly, it was the election of President Obama and the return of the reformist leadership in Tehran that made an historic deal between the United States and Iran even possible.
Finally, a president who is proud to pardon
President Obama has commuted the sentences of more federal prisoners than the past four presidents combined. In fact, in just one day, Obama doubled his own record. He had, until this week, commuted the sentences of 43 Americans. On Monday, he informed 46 more – some of whom were serving life sentences for drugs – that they could go home. But that is not what was remarkable about Monday’s act of clemency.
Is Iran trolling Tom Cotton?
Less than 24 hours after Republican Sen. Tom Cotton shared an insanely adorable photo of his just-born son Gabriel, snug in that wide-stripped hospital-issued swaddle cloth, the Arkansas lawmaker went on an epic Twitter rant aimed at the Iranian foreign minister. For Cotton, there is simply nothing that will keep him from the Iran debate. Though to be fair, Javad Zarif, Iran’s top diplomat, started it – this time.
For Iran, 'snap back' clause goes both ways
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif sought to turn the tables Wednesday as negotiations for a nuclear accord were set to resume, saying Congress should be more concerned about what could happen if the United States failed to implement its obligations rather than focusing on a possible Iranian failure.
Presidential Pardons
by Theodoric Meyer ProPublica, Dec. 17, 2014, 7:40 p.m. The president’s 18 commutations put him ahead of recent presidents but his use of pardons still lags behind Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. by Kara Brandeisky ProPublica, April 23, 2014, 6:15 p.m. Prisoners' advocates call the reforms a step forward, but they don't address discrimination in presidential pardons or apply to everyone serving harsh sentences from outdated guidelines.
Rand Paul takes jabs at Hillary Clinton at South by Southwest
AUSTIN – Of all the potential 2016 presidential candidates, only Sen. Rand Paul came this year to speak at South by Southwest, the annual film, music and technology festival in Austin. In a packed room at the Marriott Hotel here, the Kentucky Republican spoke with Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith, mostly about tech and tech policy. Paul, who intimated that the only thing that could keep him from running for president was his wife, focused on two signature issues: privacy and sentencing reform.
Netanyahu: Peres Exploiting Good Relations With Clinton
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Less than a month before Israel's election, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Shimon Peres of exploiting his close relations with President Clinton and several Arab leaders to improve his chances for re-election. Netanyahu is Peres' only challenger in the May 29 vote for prime minister. ``With all due respect, I want to say to Mr. Peres ...
Netanyahu: Peres Exploiting Good Relations With Clinton
JERUSALEM (AP) _ Less than a month before Israel's presidential election, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Shimon Peres of exploiting his close relations with President Clinton and several Arab leaders to improve his chances for re-election. Netanyahu is Peres' only challenger in the May 29 vote. ``With all due respect, I want to say to Mr. Peres ...
CIA's Brennan has had enough torture talk, wants to move on
Two entire days of torture talk were enough for John Brennan. The embattled CIA director, accused of spying on Congress and concealing details about years of CIA abuses, just wants to move on.
Torture report sheds truth on a flawed version of history
In 2007, Michael Hayden, then the director of the CIA, told a roomful of human rights advocates that “fewer than 100 people” had been held at secret sites run by his agency. And he dismissed reports that the CIA used waterboarding, stress positions and hypothermia, among other abusive tactics, to interrogate suspects.
New Light Shed on CIA's 'Black Site' Prisons
On his last day in CIA custody, Marwan Jabour, an accused al-Qaeda paymaster, was stripped naked, seated in a chair and videotaped by agency officers. Afterward, he was shackled and blindfolded, headphones were put over his ears, and he was given an injection that made him groggy. Jabour, 30, was laid down in the back of a van, driven to an airstrip and put on a plane with at least one other prisoner.
5 things to look for in the Senate's torture report
Two years ago, the Senate Intelligence Committee completed its investigation into the detention and torture of detainees in CIA custody during the Bush administration. The report has been the subject of lengthy negotiations, conflicts and even legal threats between the committee and the CIA, and it has sparked intense partisan battles within the committee itself. At issue is who is to blame, what the White House and Congress knew and what details can be shared with the public.
Justice finally comes to the pardons office and perhaps to many inmates
The U.S. pardon attorney who withheld key information from the president in a high profile clemency case was removed from office Wednesday as the Obama administration announced a new pardons policy that could potentially allow hundreds of federal inmates to be freed early from prison.
Presidential Pardons
The Sweeping Presidential Power to Help Prisoners That Holder Didn’t Mention President Obama has the power to shorten the sentence of federal prisoners. But he has only used it once. Clarence Aaron Still Waiting for Clemency, Months after Report Found Pardon Atty Misrepresented Case The Justice Department’s Inspector General found that the Pardon Attorney misrepresented facts to the White House about a prisoner’s request for commutation.
How Pollard became Israel's spy
It was an offer the Israelis couldn’t refuse. On a wintry evening exactly 30 years ago, Jonathan Pollard sat down for a drink in Washington with a stranger from Israel. The meeting had been arranged through a mutual friend, but the purpose was clear: Pollard, then a 28-year-old naval intelligence analyst, offered himself as a covert agent for the Jewish state. With top security clearances, he had access to highly sensitive intelligence on U.S. surveillance and weapons systems.
How Pollard became Israel's spy
It was an offer the Israelis couldn’t refuse. On a wintry evening exactly 30 years ago, Jonathan Pollard sat down for a drink in Washington with a stranger from Israel. The meeting had been arranged through a mutual friend, but the purpose was clear: Pollard, then a 28-year-old naval intelligence analyst, offered himself as a covert agent for the Jewish state. With top security clearances, he had access to highly sensitive intelligence on U.S. surveillance and weapons systems.
What it takes to free a man
There will be a desire to declare that justice was done Thursday when President Obama finally ordered Clarence Aaron freed from prison. And in a way it was. Aaron had been a college football star, a math whiz, an admired young man. Then he was in prison garb reviewing accounts for the factory of a federal penitentiary. He said good bye 20 years ago to his mother, to his community, to his future when he was sentenced to three consecutive life terms for a minor role in a drug deal.
On Iran: 10 wasted years, one big day
The sad truth of Sunday’s nuclear agreement with Iran is that it could have come 10 years earlier and with far fewer costs. It took a Mideast war, an accelerating nuclear program, a crisis with U.N. inspectors and crippling sanctions before the sides started talking. More importantly, it was the election of President Obama and the return of the reformist leadership in Tehran that made an historic deal between the United States and Iran even possible.
Clarence Aaron was denied commutation, but Bush team wasn’t told all the facts
Clarence Aaron was denied commutation, but Bush team wasn’t told all the facts Clarence Aaron seemed to be especially deserving of a federal commutation, an immediate release from prison granted by the president of the United States. At 24, he was sentenced to three life terms for his role in a cocaine deal, even though it was his first criminal offense and he was not the buyer, seller or supplier of the drugs. Of all those convicted in the case, Aaron received the stiffest sentence.
Happy Birthday, Gitmo
Much has occurred today with regards to Guantanamo Bay and many decisions are yet to come . But there is another milestone worthy of note: Today marks the eighth anniversary of the creation of the legal foundation for the prison and the second-tier justice system established to try terrorism suspects there. On Nov. 13, 2001, President George W. Bush signed what has become known as Military Order No. 1 in what he termed a Global War on Terrorism.
IAEA Leader's Phone Tapped
The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials. But the diplomatic offensive will not be easy.
U.S. citizenship test: Why so many of the answers are wrong.
Friends told me I didn't need to study, the questions weren't that hard. But I wanted to and so for months I lugged around a set of government-issued flashcards, hoping to master the test. I pestered my family and friends to quiz me. Sometimes I quizzed my sources. I learned things (there are 27 amendments to the Constitution) and they learned things (there are 27 amendments to the Constitution). But then we began noticing errors in a number of the questions and answers.
Iran’s next foreign minister seen as an olive branch
While all eyes are on the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the possibility for real negotiations elsewhere in the region took an optimistic turn this week. On Monday, Iranian media announced that the country’s new foreign minister would be Javad Zarif, the American-educated, seasoned Iranian diplomat who is best known and widely respected by Washington’s corps of Iran experts. The appointment still needs to be made official and Washington diplomats would not comment until it was.
Why so many of the answers are wrong.
Friends told me I didn't need to study, the questions weren't that hard. But I wanted to and so for months I lugged around a set of government-issued flashcards, hoping to master the test. I pestered my family and friends to quiz me. Sometimes I quizzed my sources. I learned things (there are 27 amendments to the Constitution) and they learned things (there are 27 amendments to the Constitution). But then we began noticing errors in a number of the questions and answers.
Same-Sex Divorce Challenges the Legal System
When her three-year-old marriage broke up, the 44-year-old doctor assumed she and her ex would split their property and jointly parent their two children. Her stay-at-home spouse wanted sole custody and the right to move the children out of Massachusetts. In pretrial motions, both parents made the same argument to a judge: The children should be with me; I'm their mother. For years, family court judges leaned toward a maternal preference when it came to custody disputes.
Michele Bachmann backed donor’s pardon request - but then he was charged anew
Michele Bachmann backed donor’s pardon request — but then he was charged anew In December 2002, even before he had been sworn in as the junior senator from Minnesota, Republican Norm Coleman wrote to the White House urging a pardon for Vennes, whose family had contributed $3,000 to Coleman’s campaign. After he left prison, Vennes seemed to remake his life. He set up a finance company and became religious, philanthropic and well connected.
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