Trump threatens security clearance of critics

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump threatened Monday to strip the security clearances of former national security officials who have criticized his refusal to confront Russia over its election interference, a move that would apply the powers of the presidency to retaliate against some of his most outspoken detractors.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said Trump was considering revoking the clearances of John Brennan, the former CIA director; James Comey, fired by Trump as FBI director last year; and James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, among others.

“The president is exploring the mechanisms to remove security clearances because they politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances,” Sanders said.

The suggestion was an unusual politicization of the security clearance process and is the latest turn in an effort by Trump to deflect scrutiny from his meeting last week with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whom he sided with over his own intelligence community in casting doubt about whether Moscow attacked the 2016 presidential election.

She also said Trump is looking to strip the security clearance of Susan Rice, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, and Michael Hayden, the former head of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush administration.

She also singled out Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, who was fired this year over a lack of candor about his dealings with reporters. McCabe does not have an active security clearance. Comey has also had no security clearance for about a year, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Security clearances allow former officials to work with companies on classified programs and provide advice to those firms and sometimes to government agencies. Stripping their clearances could harm their ability to work as consultants and advisers in Washington.