Ex-CIA Officer To Stand Against Donald Trump

A former CIA counter-terrorism officer is to run for president against Donald Trump.

Evan McMullin is reportedly being put forward as a third-party conservative alternative by Republicans disillusioned with their party's candidate for November's White House election.

Like Mr Trump, the 40-year-old Mormon has never held elected office. 

Mr McMullin most recently served as chief policy director for the US House of Representatives' Republican Conference.

He has worked in Congress since 2013, according to a LinkedIn profile.

The House Republican Conference said in a statement he is no longer employed there.

Mr McMullin previously spent 11 years as an operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, according to reports.

He said in a statement on his campaign Facebook page: "It's never too late to do the right thing, and America deserves much better than either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can offer us.

"I humbly offer myself as a leader who can give millions of disaffected Americans a better choice for President.

Mr McMullin had been a fierce critic of Mr Trump on social media, saying that opposing the businessman is about "putting principle over power".

"Authoritarians like @realDonaldTrump use promises of law & order to justify infringing on civil rights as they consolidate control by force," he posted on 21 July, according to his unverified Twitter account.

Mr McMullin is expected to file papers with the Federal Election Commission later on Monday.

His candidacy underlines how the Never Trump diehards are still trying to derail the campaign of their own party's standard-bearer, barely three months before voting day.

If Mr McMullin does throw his hat in the ring he would stand little chance of replacing President Barack Obama in the White House.

But he could peel away crucial votes from Mr Trump in swing states, theoretically helping Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton to win the election.

The third-party candidacy could also backfire, rallying anti-establishment Republicans behind Mr Trump.