{"id":178803,"date":"2018-08-15T18:48:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T23:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/15\/trump-revokes-ex-c-i-a-director-john-brennans-security-clearance-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2018-08-15T18:48:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T23:48:00","slug":"trump-revokes-ex-c-i-a-director-john-brennans-security-clearance-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/15\/trump-revokes-ex-c-i-a-director-john-brennans-security-clearance-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Revokes Ex-C.I.A. Director John Brennan\u2019s Security Clearance – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the record, as someone who completely agrees with this critique of Brennan, I am deeply offended that the White House deceitfully used it as an excuse to punish a critic. pic.twitter.com\/GhyevzmDy7<\/a><\/div>\n

\u2014 Dan Froomkin (@froomkin) August 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Trumps stated justifications for this are valid, but that’s not why he did this<\/i><\/div>\n

Donald Trump has pulled John Brennan\u2019s Security Clearance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To be sure, after Brennan spied on a Senate investigation of the CIA, and lied about it, he should have been fired and jailed by Barack Obama, but this is not why his clearance was revoked happened 3 weeks ago (it was revealed today).  This was political retribution.<\/p>\n

It’s kind of like seeing your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand new car though, and the same would apply to former DNI James Clapper, who committed perjury before Congress<\/a>, and former CIA and NSA chief Michael Hayden whose trail of illegal domestic surveillance is legion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If all of them hat their tickets pulled, it would be a good thing, but not this way:<\/p>\n

In a remarkable attack on a political opponent, President Trump on Wednesday revoked the security clearance of John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director under President Barack Obama, citing what he called Mr. Brennan\u2019s \u201cerratic\u201d behavior.<\/p>\n

The White House had threatened last month<\/a> to strip Mr. Brennan and other Obama administration officials \u2014 including Susan E. Rice, the former national security adviser; and James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence \u2014 of their security clearances. At the time, Ms. Sanders said that Mr. Trump was considering doing it because \u201cthey politicized, and in some cases monetized, their public service and security clearances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump has questioned the loyalties of national security and law enforcement officials and dismissed some of their findings \u2014 particularly the conclusion that Moscow intervened in the 2016 election \u2014 as attacks against him.<\/p>\n

Mr. Brennan has become a frequent critic of Mr. Trump since the 2016 presidential election, often taking to Twitter to question the president\u2019s ability to serve in the Oval Office.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n