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| White House revokes security clearance of ex-CIA chief and Trump critic John Brennan | White House revokes security clearance of ex-CIA chief and Trump critic John Brennan |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of John Brennan, the CIA director in the Obama administration, citing “erratic conduct and behavior”. | Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of John Brennan, the CIA director in the Obama administration, citing “erratic conduct and behavior”. |
| Brennan has been a vocal critic of Trump. | Brennan has been a vocal critic of Trump. |
| The move comes as the White House has been rocked by allegations against the president by former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, including the claim thatan audio tape exists of Trump using “the N-word”. | The move comes as the White House has been rocked by allegations against the president by former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, including the claim thatan audio tape exists of Trump using “the N-word”. |
| Reading a prepared statement from President Trump in the White House briefing room, the press secretary, Sarah Sanders, railed against Brennan. She claimed “he has leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive info to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on internet and television about this administration”. | Reading a prepared statement from President Trump in the White House briefing room, the press secretary, Sarah Sanders, railed against Brennan. She claimed “he has leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive info to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations, wild outbursts on internet and television about this administration”. |
| Sanders also said Brennan’s “lying and recent conduct, characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary, is wholly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets”. | Sanders also said Brennan’s “lying and recent conduct, characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary, is wholly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets”. |
| Sanders had in July floated removing Brennan’s clearance along with a number of other Obama administration officials. At the time, the House speaker, Paul Ryan, laughed off the threat, telling reporters of Trump: “I think he’s trolling people, honestly.” A spokesperson for Ryan declined to comment on Wednesday. | |
| On Wednesday, Sanders repeated a long list of others from whom the White House was considering revoking security clearances. They were: | |
| • James Comey, former FBI director | |
| • James Clapper, former director of national intelligence | |
| • Sally Yates, former acting attorney general | |
| • Michael Hayden, former director of national intelligence | |
| • Susan Rice, former national security adviser | |
| • Andrew McCabe, former deputy FBI director | |
| • Peter Strzok, former FBI agent | |
| • Lisa Page, former FBI attorney | |
| • Bruce Ohr, former associate deputy attorney general | |
| All but Ohr, who is still serving in the federal government, have criticized Trump. | |
| Most recently, Brennan condemned Trump’s characterization of Manigault Newman as “that dog”. | Most recently, Brennan condemned Trump’s characterization of Manigault Newman as “that dog”. |
| Brennan said: “It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility and probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent and honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our nation.” | Brennan said: “It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility and probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent and honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our nation.” |
| Hayden shrugged off the announcement that his clearance was under review. In a statement to CNN, he said “with regard to the implied threat today that I could lose my clearance, that will have no impact on what I think, say or write”. | Hayden shrugged off the announcement that his clearance was under review. In a statement to CNN, he said “with regard to the implied threat today that I could lose my clearance, that will have no impact on what I think, say or write”. |
| On Twitter, the Virginia senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said: “This might be a convenient way to distract attention, say from a damaging news story or two. But politicizing the way we guard our nation’s secrets just to punish the president’s critics is a dangerous precedent.” | |
| John McLaughlin, the former deputy director of the CIA under George W Bush, called the decision “ridiculous” and said in an interview with MSNBC that it indicated “an authoritarian attitude in [Trump’s] governing style”. | John McLaughlin, the former deputy director of the CIA under George W Bush, called the decision “ridiculous” and said in an interview with MSNBC that it indicated “an authoritarian attitude in [Trump’s] governing style”. |
| John Brennan | John Brennan |
| Donald Trump | Donald Trump |
| US politics | US politics |
| Trump administration | Trump administration |
| CIA | CIA |
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