“Professionals refer to the stages of the intelligence cycle as collection, processing, analyzing and sharing information. In most cases, the implications and significance of raw pieces of information found in classified materials are reviewed and vetted to keep sensationalized and unsubstantiated accounts from being deemed credible.”

American politician and former CIA clandestine officer

William Ballard Hurd is an American politician and former CIA clandestine officer. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 23rd congressional district from 2015 to 2021. Hurd's public career has combined intelligence work and electoral politics. He is known for representing a large and politically varied district in Texas, and for a career that moved from the CIA's covert service into Congress.