Trump pulled Ratcliffe's nomination just after Senate GOPers learned about his link to whistleblower scandal: report

On Friday, President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew the nomination of Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to take over from Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence. He blamed the media frenzy for making the nomination untenable, as commentators had scrutinized his lack of qualifications and his fudged claims about prosecuting terrorists.

"Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people," Trump explained in his tweet withdrawing Ratcliffe.

But according to The Daily Beast, there may have been another reason Trump changed course on the nomination. An email was reportedly sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee outlining Ratcliffe's role in a whistleblower case.

The details of the allegation are vague due to national security concerns, but the email alleges that Ratcliffe promoted a company "accused of being instrumental in the reprisal against a whistleblower and their cybersecurity efforts," noted The Daily Beast. The government employee facing retaliation is currently being represented by the Government Accountability Project. A source who has seen the whistleblower's disclosure also noted that Ratcliffe's third-largest campaign donor in this election cycle is "a company that forced the shutdown of a critical government cybersecurity office."

Republicans who read this email reportedly had grave concerns, putting Ratcliffe's nomination in jeopardy.