Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., praised President Trump Wednesday for revoking former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance, saying he had encouraged the president to pull Brennan’s access to the country’s secrets.
“I applaud President Trump for his revoking of John Brennan’s security clearance,” he wrote in a statement. “He participated in a shredding of constitutional rights, lied to Congress, and has been monetizing and making partisan political use of his clearance since his departure.”
I applaud President Trump for his revoking of John Brennan’s security clearance. I urged the President to do this. Read more here: https://t.co/SAQNTJ1UAn
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 15, 2018
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced Wednesday that Trump had revoked Brennan’s clearance due to his “erratic behavior.” The development follows the administration naming a number of former intelligence and law enforcement officials whose access was under review.
In July, Paul charged that Brennan was “monetizing his security clearance” and met with Trump to ask him to revoke Brennan’s, as well as those belonging to other “partisans.”
“Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees,” he tweeted at the time.
[Opinion: Trump is wrong to suspend John Brennan’s clearance]
Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 23, 2018
Paul added Wednesday that he filibustered Brennan’s nomination to head the CIA in 2013 because “his behavior in government and out of it [demonstrated] why he should not be allowed near classified information.” At the time, the libertarian said his filibuster was prompted by constitutional concerns over whether the then-Obama administration had the authority to target an American on U.S. soil with an unmanned drone.
Brennan served former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George H.W. Bush.
