Breaking with tradition  Trump skips presidentâs written intelligence report and relies on oral briefings
Breaking with tradition   Trump  skips presidentâs written intelligence report and relies on oral briefings
 President Trump  has stopped reading the traditional presidential daily briefing document  and instead opts for an oral overview of intelligence matters every two to three days. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
For much of the past year   President Trump  has declined to participate in a practice followed by the past seven of  his  predecessors:  He  rarely if ever reads the Presidentâs Daily Brief  a document that lays out the most pressing information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies from hot spots around the world.
 Trump  has opted to rely on an oral briefing of select intelligence issues in the Oval Office rather than getting the full written document delivered to review separately each day  according to three people familiar with  his  briefings.
Reading the traditionally dense intelligence book is not  Trumpâs  preferred âstyle of learning â according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The arrangement underscores  Trumpâs  impatience with exhaustive classified documents that go to the commander in chief â material that  he  has said  he  prefers condensed as much as possible. But by not reading the daily briefing   the president  could hamper  his  ability to respond to crises in the most effective manner  intelligence experts warned.
 Soon after Trump took office   analysts sought to tailor their intelligence sessions for a president with a famously short attention span  who is known for taking in much of  his  information from conservative Fox News Channel hosts. The oral briefings were augmented with photos  videos and graphics.
After several months   Trump  made clear  he  was not interested in reviewing a personal copy of the written intelligence report known as the PDB  a highly classified summary prepared before dawn to provide  the president  with the best update on the worldâs events  according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Administration officials defended Trumpâs reliance on oral sessions and said  he  gets full intelligence briefings  noting that presidents have historically sought to receive the information in different ways.
Michael Anton  a spokesman for the National Security Council  said  Trump  âis an avid consumer of intelligence  appreciates the hard work of  his  briefers and of the entire intelligence community and looks forward every day to the give and take of  his  intelligence briefings.â
Daniel Coats  the director of national intelligence  said in a statement that âany notion that  President Trump  is not fully engaged in the PDB or does not read the briefing materials is pure fiction and is clearly not based on firsthand knowledge of the process.â
He added that  Trumpâs  routine sessions with senior intelligence advisers âdemonstrate his interest in and appreciation for the value of the intelligence provided. In fact   President Trump  engages for significantly longer periods than I understand many previous presidents have done.â
Related: [ Trumpâs  favorite general: Can Mattis check an impulsive president and still retain his trust? ]
Several intelligence experts said that the presidentâs aversion to diving deeper into written intelligence details â the âhomeworkâ that past presidents have done to familiarize themselves with foreign policy and national security â makes both  him  and the country more vulnerable.
Leon Panetta  a former CIA director and defense secretary for President Barack Obama  said  Trump  could miss important context and nuance if he is relying solely on an oral briefing. The arrangement also increases pressure on the presidentâs national security team  which cannot entirely replace a well-informed commander in chief  he said.
Mark Lowenthal  a career intelligence officer who served as a CIA assistant director from 2002 to 2005  said  Trump  does not have to read the PDB if  he  is getting an extensive oral briefing.  He  warned  however  that a short briefing on a few select items would leave the president ill-equipped for major decisions over the long term.
Breaking with tradition   Trump  skips presidentâs written intelligence report and relies on oral briefings
  [TGT] has stopped reading the traditional presidential daily briefing document  and instead opts for an oral overview of intelligence matters every two to three days. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
For much of the past year    [TGT] has declined to participate in a practice followed by the past seven of   [TGT]   predecessors:   [TGT]   rarely if ever reads the Presidentâs Daily Brief  a document that lays out the most pressing information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies from hot spots around the world.
  [TGT] has opted to rely on an oral briefing of select intelligence issues in the Oval Office rather than getting the full written document delivered to review separately each day  according to three people familiar with   [TGT]   briefings.
Reading the traditionally dense intelligence book is not  Trumpâs  preferred âstyle of learning â according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The arrangement underscores  Trumpâs  impatience with exhaustive classified documents that go to the commander in chief â material that  he  has said  he  prefers condensed as much as possible. But by not reading the daily briefing   the president  could hamper  his  ability to respond to crises in the most effective manner  intelligence experts warned.
  [TGT] analysts sought to tailor their intelligence sessions for a president with a famously short attention span  who is known for taking in much of   [TGT]   information from conservative Fox News Channel hosts. The oral briefings were augmented with photos  videos and graphics.
After several months    [TGT] made clear   [TGT]   was not interested in reviewing a personal copy of the written intelligence report known as the PDB  a highly classified summary prepared before dawn to provide  the president  with the best update on the worldâs events  according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Administration officials defended Trumpâs reliance on oral sessions and said   [TGT]   gets full intelligence briefings  noting that presidents have historically sought to receive the information in different ways.
Michael Anton  a spokesman for the National Security Council  said  Trump  âis an avid consumer of intelligence  appreciates the hard work of  his  briefers and of the entire intelligence community and looks forward every day to the give and take of  his  intelligence briefings.â
Daniel Coats  the director of national intelligence  said in a statement that âany notion that   [TGT] is not fully engaged in the PDB or does not read the briefing materials is pure fiction and is clearly not based on firsthand knowledge of the process.â
 [TGT]  added that  Trumpâs  routine sessions with senior intelligence advisers âdemonstrate  [TGT]  interest in and appreciation for the value of the intelligence provided. In fact    [TGT] engages for significantly longer periods than I understand many previous presidents have done.â
Related: [ Trumpâs  favorite general: Can Mattis check an impulsive president and still retain his trust? ]
Several intelligence experts said that the presidentâs aversion to diving deeper into written intelligence details â the âhomeworkâ that past presidents have done to familiarize themselves with foreign policy and national security â makes both  him  and the country more vulnerable.
Leon Panetta  a former CIA director and defense secretary for President Barack Obama  said   [TGT] could miss important context and nuance if he is relying solely on an oral briefing. The arrangement also increases pressure on the presidentâs national security team  which cannot entirely replace a well-informed commander in chief  he said.
Mark Lowenthal  a career intelligence officer who served as a CIA assistant director from 2002 to 2005  said   [TGT]   does not have to read the PDB if   [TGT]   is getting an extensive oral briefing.   [TGT]   warned  however  that a short briefing on a few select items would leave the president ill-equipped for major decisions over the long term.