Trump pulls controversial intel chief nomination -- and whines he's been treated 'very unfairly'

President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he is no longer nominating Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to be his Director of National Intelligence -- and then bitterly complained about his "unfair" treatment.

"Our great Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream Media," the president wrote on Twitter. "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. John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country. I will be announcing my nomination for DNI shortly."

Trump's decision to pull the Ratcliffe nomination is surprising, as the president nominated him just five days ago.

All the same, Ratcliffe's nomination was beset by controversy the minute it was announced, as Democrats accused the president of naming an inexperienced loyalist who could not be trusted to handle America's most closely guarded secrets.

Making matters worse, Ratcliffe was also busted for lying about his qualifications to serve as DNI. NBC News reported earlier this week that it could not find any evidence that Ratcliffe had ever successfully prosecuted any terrorists despite claiming to have "put terrorists in prison."

Days later, the Washington Post found that Ratcliffe similarly lied about having once arrested "300 illegal immigrants in a single day."