Paybacks
Today, President Donald J Trump “pulled” former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance. While he came up with a variety of excuses for doing so, this is really only about one thing: Brennan called Trump’s behavior at Helsinki treasonous. John Brennan, in his own well-developed opinion, felt Trump did not act in the best interest of the United States. Today Trump told him – paybacks are a bitch (or a dog.)
Others, including NSA Director Mike Hayden, former DNI James Clapper and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, are also under consideration for losing their clearances. And, while James Comey and Andy McCabe are also mentioned, they have carefully pointed out that they lost their clearance when they were fired from the FBI. I’m sure Peter Strozk’s name will be added to the list of those who should lose clearance, but already have lost them.
Retired intelligence officials are kept on clearances in order to help current officials. Intelligence issues cross the boundaries of political changes; sometimes it’s necessary to find out what was done before. These former officials act as the institutional memory and can help add depth and understanding to current decisions. They don’t get updated intelligence briefings, but occasionally are brought “up to speed” in order to give input on current operations.
This won’t stop Brennan, now working for NBC, or the others from stating their views and opinions. They don’t need a clearance to work in the media, and they don’t need the President’s permission to speak out. They cannot reveal “secrets,” they are still bound by the laws and regulations that protect national security, with or without a clearance, so having the clearance doesn’t effect their current employment.
What it does do is deprive our current national intelligence leaders of their experience. In an Administration that is sorely lacking in that area, it seems reckless to deny access to more. And it threatens the free speech rights of those named.
But, as it has been made clear again and again, the President’s main goal is to defend himself, not our country. That Brennan would dare speak out, stating what a great many Americans were thinking as they watched the President humiliate himself to Russia’s leader, is unacceptable. And since Brennan seems impervious to the President’s preferred method of attack, the dreaded “tweet,” Trump had to find some more dramatic way to try to disgrace him.
By the way, it also changes the subject from the Manafort trial, and the Omarosa tapes, and the election failures, and the looming Mueller investigation. This action, among all of the others, shows we have a President who runs the nation like he was the 8th grade class President.
The disgrace isn’t Brennan’s.
