White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced Wednesday that the Trump administration has decided to strip former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance.
Sanders read a statement from the President in front of the press which stated that Trump has a constitutional responsibility to protect classified information.
“As the head of the executive brand and Commander in Chief, I have a unique constitutional responsibility to protect the nations classified information,” the President’s statement read. “Today in fulfilling that responsibility, I have decided to revoke the security clearance of John Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.”
The President’s justification for taking the security clearance is that the former CIA director “has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility.”
“Historically, former heads of intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been allowed to retain access to classified information after their government service so that they can consult with their successors regarding matters about which they may have special insights and as a professional courtesy,” Sanders read. “Neither of these justifications supports Mr. Brennan’s continued access to classified information.”
Brennan has been publicly critical of Donald Trump, especially through his personal twitter account.
His security clearance was stripped one day after tweeting:
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul had been lobbying to have Brennan’s clearance revoked as he questioned whether the Obama-era spy boss was “monetizing” his access to sensitive information in his new role as a pundit for MSNBC.
On the same day of the above tweet, Paul met with President Trump to ask for Brennan’s clearance to be revoked.
In an op-ed for Breitbart, Senator Paul would write:
Clear evidence concerning the bias of multiple, high-ranking current and former intelligence community officials should make us think twice about letting retired intelligence officials keep access to classified information, especially if they become talking heads on television after leaving public service.
There is a great danger that vital, secret details may be revealed on television, even inadvertently.
John Brennan is no stranger to this problem.
Brennan infamously tweeted that Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki was “nothing short of treason,” in clear display of Trump derangement syndrome.
Several other former and current officials are being considered for having their clearances revoked, this includes James Clapper, James Comey, Susan Rice, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr, and others.
