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President Trump will travel to CIA headquarters Saturday to meet with the nations leading spies and analysts.

The visit comes at a strained time between Trump and my former intelligence colleagues, largely because their commander in chief initially rejected and later acknowledged their assessment of Russias meddling in the 2016 campaign. He did so in very personal, unforgiving terms.

But Trump has his own reasons to be frustrated: former intelligence leaders smeared him with unproven allegations of a treasonous relationship with Russia. Even President Obama took a dim view of how they handled the unvetted rumor.

So how does Trump reset his relationship with our nations spies? One simple idea: show that he can think and act like one.

Spies live by a unique set of rules. Some are formal, some are unspoken. All told, they guide how clandestine officers think and behave, shaping their view of themselves, their colleagues, and the world. If Trump can adopt these rules, he will earn the trust and respect of the men and women that he needs to protect the republic.

Spies live by a unique set of rules. Some are formal, some are unspoken. All told, they guide how clandestine officers think and behave, shaping their view of themselves, their colleagues, and the world. If Trump can adopt these rules, he will earn the trust and respect of the men and women that he needs to protect the republic.

Here are the top five.

1. If You Mess Up, Fess Up: When a spy makes a mistake, the consequences can be grave. People die. Nations stumble. Yet all people fall short. The path to redemption at the CIA is straightforward acknowledge the error, apologize, and help find a solution.

Trump made a mistake in slamming the intelligence community and their assessment of Russias meddling in the election. Healing that wound involves an apology and commitment to listening more carefully in the future. No other words will do.

At the same time, Trump should rightfully remind CIA officers that unvetted rumors have no place in American intelligence. Especially when it involves domestic politics.

2. All for One, One for All: Spies understand that diversity is important. Foreign targets present themselves as every race, religion, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Recruiting these informants takes officers who match that complicated diversity. To be clear, this isnt about some form of liberal social engineering. Its about mobilizing good human sources of information.

Trump should acknowledge and embrace this ethos of diversity, ensuring that the intelligence community has the full range of officers and assets it needs to keep the nation safe.

3. Challenge Your Assumptions: In the civilian world, were encouraged to stand firm in our beliefs. In the world of espionage, beliefs are temporary. Why? With every passing second, new reports pour in from around the world with updated information. Spies have to be on the watch for new insights that challenge their assumptions. Its dangerous to assume youre always right.

Trump should champion this culture and explain that the country needs this perspective to prevent fighting the wrong wars or adopting the wrong tactics.

4. Innovate or Die: The CIAs mission hasnt changed since the 1940s but virtually everything else has. Two years ago, the Agencys director launched reforms in the spirit of keeping pace. Regrettably, many of those changes have fallen flat and made the country less safe. Still, changes are needed.

Intelligence officers would welcome Trumps reversal of the failed reforms, focusing instead on the core problem: a culture of yes men (and women). Changing organizational charts wont matter if you dont change the Agencys leadership.

For proof of the dysfunction, Trump should ask for employee surveys that capture their lack of trust in senior management.

5. America First: Spies embody the spirit of President Kennedys call to be an idealist without illusion. They understand Americas promise as leader of the free world but know others seek to destroy her. Theyve seen that we have no permanent friends, only permanent interests.

Trump should acknowledge that America is strong only because we make it so. Allies like the Europeans or NATO are critically important, but no other nation or entity will replace firm American resolve in the face of adversity.

No matter how Trump handles his first engagement with the CIA, he and the country should understand one final rule of spies: fidelity to the American people. They do not serve a political party. And they do not flee if their preferred candidate loses an election. They stand firm with the Constitution and offer faithful service to their commander in chief.

Its now up to President Trump to show that their loyalty is well placed.

Bryan Dean Wright is a former CIA ops officer and member of the Democratic Party. He contributes on issues of politics, national security, and the economy. Follow him on Twitter @BryanDeanWright.

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I'm ex-CIA (and a Democrat) but here are five spy rules that could benefit Trump - Fox News

(1 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family before formally signing his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2107, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Vice President Mike Pence, the president's wife Melania Trump, their son Barron Trump, and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (2 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (3 of ) President Donald Trump formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (4 of ) President Donald Trump formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2107, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (5 of ) President Donald Trump taps House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. after being presented with his official swearing in ceremony picture during the inaugural luncheon at the Statuary Hall in the Capitol, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (6 of ) Abigail Perlman, wife of Sen. Roy Blunt, R- Mo., from left, first lady Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence, stand as President Donald Trump is called for a toast, during the inaugural luncheon at the Statuary Hall in the Capitol, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (7 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool) (8 of ) President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family, rear, wife Melania Trump, son Barron Trump, as he formally signs his cabinet nominations into law, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in the President's Room of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

KEN THOMAS AND JOSH BOAK

ASSOCIATED PRESS | January 20, 2017, 11:49AM

| Updated 4 minutes ago.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday quickly claimed the mantle of the White House, signing legislation allowing retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as his defense secretary, as well as the nomination papers for his Cabinet choices.

Less than an hour after wrapping up his inaugural address, Trump sat in an ornate room steps from the Senate floor and signed a series of papers formally launching his administration. Flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and congressional leaders, he praised each of his nominees as he signed the papers and handed out the pens he was using, exchanges that allowed him to banter with his new congressional rivals, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

Trump also signed a proclamation declaring a national day of patriotism, according to a tweet from White House spokesman Sean Spicer.

The bill passed by Congress last week grants Mattis a one-time exception from federal law barring former U.S. service members who have been out of uniform for less than seven years from holding the top Pentagon job. The restriction is meant to preserve civilian control of the military. Mattis, 66, retired from the Marine Corps in 2013.

The signing ceremony captured Trump's first acts as president. It was unclear whether more was coming Friday.

The president distributed pens to top congressional leaders during the ceremony. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, received the pen with which Trump nominated Elaine Chao, McConnell's wife, to be Transportation secretary.

When Pelosi jokingly objected to a pen used to nominate Rep. Tom Price of Georgia to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, House Speaker Paul Ryan interjected, "I'll take it."

Although Trump campaigned on promises to get to work immediately, Trump officials have said they expected Monday as the first big workday of the new administration, his effective Day One.

As a candidate, Trump assembled an 18-point plan of actions for his first day in office. But has backed off some of his promised speed, downplaying the importance of a rapid-fire approach to complex issues that may involve negotiations with Congress or foreign leaders. On others issues, he has affirmed the plan, indicating significant policy announcements may be teed up in the first hours and days of the Trump administration.

"The glacial pace and the excuse of divided government in Washington, those days are gone," said White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who served as Trump's final campaign manager. "That really will be swept into the bin of recent history."

Spicer said Thursday that two executive orders on trade would be coming soon. On his Day One list, Trump said he would formally declare the United States' intention to withdraw from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which he vigorously opposed during his campaign as detrimental to U.S. businesses and workers. He also promised to declare his intention to renegotiate the two-decades-old Clinton era North American Free Trade Agreement or withdraw from the deal.

During the campaign, Trump promised to propose on his first day a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. He vowed to impose a hiring freeze for federal workers, and begin to remove immigrants who are criminals and living in the country unlawfully.

He also said he would "cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama."

Given Trump's opposition to Obama's immigration actions that could mean cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which has protected about 750,000 young immigrants from deportation. The program also offered those immigrants work permits.

If he terminates the program, Trump could choose to immediately cancel the deportation protection and revoke the work permits, or he could opt to block new enrollment and allow those already approved to keep their work permits until they expire.

Trump also faces an early choice of naming a Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump has said he will announce a nominee in about two weeks.

Other issues poised to receive early action include energy, where Trump is likely to undo regulations on oil drilling and coal, and cybersecurity, where he has already said he will ask for a report on the strength of the nation's cyber defenses within 90 days of taking office.

___

Associated Press writer Alicia A. Caldwell contributed to this report.

___

On Twitter follow Ken Thomas https://twitter.com/KThomasDC and Josh Boak: https://twitter.com/joshboak

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President Trump signs 1st bill, actions - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Schumer pointed to Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Trump's Cabinet picks as two early fights between the incoming administration and Senate Democrats.

But they have also signaled they are willing to offer an olive branch to Trump on some policy issues. Schumer stressed on Friday that Democrats wouldn't say "no" to a proposal just because the president-elect supports it.

"There are certain issues, if he sticks to good values that we believe in, we'll work with him," he said. "We're not going to oppose things just because Trump's name is on it."

The New York Democrat pointed to trade andinfrastructure spending as two areas of potential cooperation, but noted on most bills Republicans will need Democratic support to clear legislation through the upper chamber.

"We are sort of the bulwark against some of the things president-elect Trump might try to do that won't be acceptable to our values or the American people," he said. "There are issue after issue because of the way the Senate works. They'll need 60 votes."

Republicans have a 52-seat majority, meaning they'll need to win over at least eight Democrats. They're hopeful that the 10 Democrats from states that Trump carried in the White House race will buck their party and work with them to help get Trump's agenda through Congress.

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Schumer: Democrats will fight Trump 'tooth and nail' - The Hill (blog)

I cant remember the last time a Democratic and a Republican legislative leader walked together through the doors of the Chicago Sun-Times, or any newspaper, to jointly ask for the papers support on a major issue.

Senate President John Cullerton and Republican Leader Christine Radogno paid such a visit to the Sun-Times Editorial Board Thursday afternoon.

It was refreshing.

OPINION

Cullerton and Radogno, as you might have read, have been working together to bring an end to Illinois two-year old budget impasse.

Theyve cobbled together a far-reaching package of legislative measures in an effort to reach a compromise.

RELATED:Senate leaders push budget plan, wont cap income tax hike

There are 13 pieces of legislation in all, containing everything from an income tax increase to a temporary property tax freeze to a new school funding formula and massive gambling expansion that includes a Chicago casino.

Any one of these bills would be a heavy lift in normal times, but the Senate leaders have tied them all together so that if one measure fails, the whole package fails.

Its a rare, maybe unprecedented, tactic, with actual language in the individual bills tying the fate of each to the others. Neither Cullerton nor Radogno could recall trying this approach on so large a scale.

The idea is that everybody gives something, and everybody getssomething, a true compromise. But its also a lot of moving parts, making it that much easier for somebody to gum up the works, which is why they are seeking support.

Some people are already saying the individual pieces of legislation dont go far enough to fix the problems in Illinois government. Others say they go too far.

Cullerton and Radogno arent in love with everything they are putting forward either, but in their presentation to the Sun-Times, they swallowed their differences to present a united front and side-stepped opportunities for laying blame.

That was refreshing, too.

The compromise only involves the Senate, and even that is tenuous, as individual senators come under pressure to vote against portions of the deal.

The Senate leaders say they have consulted neither Gov. Bruce Rauner nor House Speaker Michael Madigan in shaping their agreement.

The goal here is to show that were not working with the governor or against the governor. Were not working with the House or against the House, is how Cullerton explained it Thursday.

That might prove the undoing of the Senate plan, or it might outmaneuver the more powerful duo who have been front and center in the political standoff since Rauners election in 2014.

Democrats are coming under fire for proposals that would cut the costs of public pensions and make the workers compensation system less costly to employers.

Republicans will have trouble supporting the income tax increase in particular. The proposal would take the individual income tax rate back up to 4.95 percent, just short of the temporary 5 percent rate that the Legislature allowed to lapse after Rauner made it a political hot potato and Democrats chickened out.

Cullerton and Radogno, who promised to cast their own vote for each of the13 bills, say they plan to pass the legislation through the Senate next week, and then hope the House will be forced to engage in compromise of its own.

Its very difficult to force Madigans hand, but in the interest of self-preservation for his members and retaining the House leadership he covets above all else its possible the Senate moves will motivate him to find common ground as well.

The possibility that voters will blame them all and hold them accountable in 2018 is part of what moved both Democrat and Republican senators to insist that their leaders look harder for bipartisan solutions.

Blessed are the peacemakers, even in Illinois politics.

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Brown: Rare and refreshingDemocrat, Republican working together - Chicago Sun-Times

Donald Trump is not the sort of father who pretends to love his children equally. His favorite is obviously Ivanka, the one he wants to bang, created with ex-wife Ivana, who despite allegedly raping and humiliating her with a public affair with Marla Maples, he seems to (somewhat) respect. When it comes to Tiffany Trump, spawn of our soon-to-be president and mistress-turned-second-wife Maples, Trump seems to forget she exists. Perhaps its that he doesnt seem to take her mother seriously, or perhaps its because she wont accept his advances. On Daddy Donalds big day, the day hes fucking inaugurated to become the president of the United States, Tiffany brought along a date. His name isRoss Mechanic. He is 22 years old (one year younger than Tiffany) and he has been a registered Democrat since 2012.

Presidential inaugurations hardly seem like the type of event that warrants plus-ones, but, least favorite or not, Tiffany is going to be a first daughter, and has been datingMechanic for sometime. On Tuesday, Jezebel reported that Tiffany and her mother Marla had to split a $300 glam budget between the two of them, which for normal people is plenty of cash to look presentable, although granted, small considering the man theyre coming to support is a multi-billionaire, and you can assume Ivanka spent many times that amount.

But dont feel too sorry for Marla and Tiffany. They apparently tried to get stylistTricia Kelly to work for free and were assholes about it, and while photographed arriving with her Democrat date, Tiffanys hair looks fab. So obviously girl had no problems in the end working that glam budget. Towing along a boyfriend who is aregistered Democrat to the inauguration of rogue Republican Donald Trump could be a big fuck you to her father, or perhaps its simply true love and the two cant stand to be apart. Love is the only reason I can fathom that a Democrat would put on a suit and tie to sit respectfully as Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

[photo: Getty]

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Shunned daughter Tiffany brings Democrat boyfriend to inauguration - Death and Taxes