Failure to receive intelligence

We should not be at all surprised that  Mr. Trump's National Security Team was unwilling to pass up bad news (Susan Rice: TrumpPuts Russia First. New York Times, July 1, 2020: A25.

After all, back in April 2017, Generals Mattis and McMaster failed to tell Mr. Trump that he was wrong in his report of the direction in which a US aircraft carrier was proceeding (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/world/asia/aircraft-carrier-north-korea-carl-vinson.html).

We are now in truly terrifying times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/19/opinion/miscue-over-north-korea.html.

Most organizations face the problem of information distortion as it goes up the hierarchy. Good chief executives make sure that they have multiple channels of information so that they get a rounded view of the situation they are facing.