So Vice Admiral Robert Harward is now out of the running for National Security Advisor, reportedly because he insisted on bringing in his own staff.

But whoever is named to replace LTG Michael Flynn must bring their own staff into the National Security Council. Why? Because if he doesn’t, he will suffer the same fate as General Flynn, or be forced to submit to the Permanent Government, a/k/a the Deep State.

I’m not referring to KT McFarland, whom CNN claimed that Admiral Harward reportedly wanted to replace. I’m talking about the National Security staff, the representatives of the Deep State who have launched their own Occupy movement in the White House.

In the final months of his administration, President Obama stacked the NSC staff with hundreds of political operatives, many of whom were carried over by the new administration.

Why did the Trump transition team even think of carrying these people over? Because the NSC structure – or perhaps I should say, the fiction of the NSC structure – requires that most of the staff be comprised of “detailees” from the various U.S. government agencies whose operations the National Security Advisor is supposed to coordinate.

There were no Trump appointees in any of the national security agencies until just recently, thanks to Democrat obstruction in the Senate. This provided a huge opportunity to the President’s opponents.

Want to know who broke the law by leaking information gleaned from a highly-classified U.S. intelligence program to monitor foreign diplomats about Michael Flynn? Interested reporters – if there are any left outside of conservative news outlets – should start by looking at former CIA director John Brennan, an Obama  political operative.

Brennan worked hard to seed the CIA with acolytes and supporters, career “intelligence” officers whose real job was not to protect and defend the United States of America, but to sabotage the presidency of Donald Trump.

This is not the first time this has happened.

But Brennan’s actions go far beyond those of earlier shadow warriors. Not only was he the CIA director, but he has openly and repeatedly challenged the new President, hectored and lectured him, implying that he is unfit for office. I do not know of any precedent where a former CIA director has behaved in such open opposition to a new president.

And the rot goes well beyond the CIA.

Take a look at the Linked-In profiles of recent Obama administration NSC appointees. While I do not pretend to have any information to suggest that any of these individuals leaked classified information to discredit General Flynn, or will do so in the future, their public profiles show how difficult it will be for the incoming National Security Advisor to right this ship, unless he has installed his own crew.

Here are just a few examples:

• Ms. D, named a senior director at NSC by Obama in July, was “detailed” to the White House by Brennan from the National Counter-terrorism Center. Loyal to Brennan, to whom she owes her career, or to the President? Who knows.

• Mr. P, a Yale University scholar hired initially by Vice President Joe Biden as a China expert, gets named to the NSC staff in May 2015 as a “Senior Director” for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf States. All of a sudden a China specialist becomes one of our top national security officials dealing with Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Gulf States? Really?

• Mr. H, who recently updated his profile to state that he served on the “White House NSC staff for Bush, Obama and Trump.” A real professional, right? Non-partisan? Think again.

Mr. H. was another John Brennan protégé who was detailed to the White House by Brennan in July 2015, where he became the “Senior Advisor for Migrant Screening and Vetting.” Gee, that’s a subject that’s been in the news, isn’t it?

• Ms. H started her career as a national security professional in 2014 – as a White House intern! She was promoted by Obama to an NSC billet in October 2015.

• Ms. CH, a graduate of left-wing Oberlin College, worked for John Kerry’s State Department, and was detailed to NSC in April 2016 where she became “Director of Democracy” programs.

• Mr. F was more overtly political than most. An Obama for America field director during the 2008 campaign, he was rewarded with a White House job in February 2009 and then “promoted” to become the NSC Director for Cybersecurity in May 2015. Gee, I wonder who had his eyes on Russian “hacking?” Or who promoted those stories with the Fake News media?

I do not know any of these individuals – or the 160 more current Obama holdovers who list their profiles on Linked-In, most of whom were hired in the past year by NSC.

But I do know a security threat when I see one. And this is it.

Whatever the real reason Admiral Harward turned down the National Security advisor’s job, I would counsel General Flynn’s successor to end the Occupation of the West Wing by these Obama burrowers. Should he fail to do so, he will die a death of a thousand leaks.

You can take that to the bank.