WASHINGTON: Charles Freeman, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and recently named Director at the National Intelligence Council, has not had much time to enjoy his new position before an investigation was launched into his alleged financial ties with Saudi Arabia and China.

The Washington Times said yesterday that those ties “could oblige (Freeman) to recuse himself from some matters regarding China as well as Myanmar.”

Speculation is that Freeman might also be forced to recuse himself due to his contact with Saudi Arabia.

One angle of the attack is that the White House never vetted Freeman.

“The director did not seek the White House’s approval,” Morigi told reporters, adding: “In addition to his formal background security investigation, we expect that the White House will undertake the typical vetting associated with senior administration assignments,” a spokesperson told reporters.

Editors at the conservative, pro-Israel Washington Times noted today in an editorial tied to Lake’s reporting, “Freeman would not enjoy the trust of our key allies in the Middle East and Asia.”

They specifically refer to concerns that his appointment could stymie the flow of intelligence between the United States and states like Israel and Taiwan.

Just last Thursday the director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, named “Chas” Freeman, a former diplomat, to head the National Intelligence Council.

The job would give Freeman top security clearance and he would be responsible for compiling intelligence from the United States’ 16 intelligence agencies into National Intelligence Estimates, detailed and lengthy analyses that play a key role in shaping US foreign policy.

Freeman’s appointment has upset some members of Congress who asked the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s inspector general, Edward McGuire, to investigate Freeman’s potential “conflict of interest.”

The appointment has been made but the drive to remove or discredit him is not over.

Nine Republican members of Congress wrote to the inspector general in the office of the Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, demanding “a comprehensive review of Ambassador Freeman’s past and current commercial, financial and contractual ties to the Kingdom to ensure no conflict of interest exists in his new position.”