President Donald Trump
Trump considers revoking security clearances of those critical of him
is considering revoking the security clearances of a dozen well-known former national security officials in an extraordinary desire to punish increasingly vocal critics from past administrations.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of at least half a dozen well-known former national security officials, his spokeswoman said on Monday, in an apparent expression of his desire to punish increasingly vocal critics from past administrations.
Among the president’s targets, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, are former CIA Director John Brennan, former director of national intelligence James Clapper and former national security adviser Susan Rice, who all served under President Barack Obama.
She also named Michael Hayden, who was head of the National Security Agency and then CIA director under President George W. Bush, as well as James Comey, the former FBI director under Obama whom Trump fired last year, and Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director also removed by Trump.
However, neither Comey nor McCabe still have clearances, according to their representatives, suggesting that the White House had not fully considered the threatened action before making it public.
Sanders, addressing White House reporters, said of the targets: “They’ve politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances, making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia.”
The pronouncement suggests a presidency reeling from the bipartisan backlash over Trump’s news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, when Trump refused to condemn Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election and accepted Putin’s denials. Brennan, for one, called Trump’s conduct “treasonous.”
The president’s decision to align himself with Russia rather than U.S. intelligence agencies led to a new round of broad speculation that Trump is somehow under Putin’s influence, perhaps because of blackmail or financial entanglements.
Since returning from Helsinki, Trump has grown more agitated by condemnations from former officials who have become paid analysts for cable news networks, leaving him eager to find a way to fight back, according to two people close to the president.
The threat, however, only drew more condemnation.
“To strip individuals of security clearances absent specific evidence of improper or illegal use of classified information is seriously wrong,” tweeted Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former diplomat who served in both Bush administrations. “It represents a degree of politicization and a misuse of power that we associate with Erdogan’s Turkey, not with the United States.”
The talk of stripping Comey’s and McCabe’s nonexistent security clearances also invited ridicule.
“You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects at the press corps,” tweeted Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe, who said his clearance was deactivated when he was fired.
The same goes for Comey, said David Kelley, one of the former director’s lawyers. Trump fired Comey in May 2017, a decision that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate Russian election interference, possible Trump campaign involvement and whether Trump obstructed justice in the probe.
Sanders would not rule out some kind of similar action against the clearances held by Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden.
“I’m not aware of any plans for that at this point,” she said.
If Trump decides to revoke the clearances of the former officials, many of whom spent decades in government or military service, or both, they would no longer be permitted to review classified material. Former national security officials maintain their clearances in part because they are called upon by subsequent administrations or Congress for advice or service on advisory panels.
Soon after Sanders’ remarks, Clapper called the potential revocation “a very, very petty thing to do” in an interview with CNN, where he has a contract as an analyst.
“If he chooses to do it for political reasons, well that’s — I think that’s a terrible precedent, and I think that’s a very sad commentary. And it’s an abuse of the system,” Clapper said.
Hayden, also a CNN analyst, said that the threat wouldn’t have an impact on him.
“I don’t go back for classified briefings,” he tweeted. “Won’t have any effect on what I say or write.”
All of the officials named by Sanders have been critical of Trump.
Last week, Brennan tweeted that Trump’s news conference in Helsinki was “nothing short of treasonous.”
“Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin,” he added.