The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is calling on White House chief of staff John Kelly to shed light on President Trump’s decision to yank former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance over concerns regarding his erratic behavior.
“As an initial matter, if making ‘outrageous’ statements or engaging in ‘wild outbursts on the Internet and television’ were grounds for denying access to classified information, many of the president’s top aides — indeed, perhaps even the president himself — would be swept into this unprecedented new category,” ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., wrote in a letter to Kelly Thursday, demanding a full briefing on the matter.
Cummings acknowledged that presidents have the authority to award, suspend, and revoke clearances. But he said they could not revoke access because the person is a political adversary nor can they use the power “as a tool for political retribution.”
[Opinion: Trump is wrong to suspend John Brennan’s clearance]
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced during Wednesday’s briefing that Brennan’s clearance had been pulled because he made “a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations — wild outbursts on the Internet and television — about this administration.”
Ex-intelligence and law enforcement officials slammed the decision as an attack on free speech, arguing the move was unprecedented since the White House did not liaise with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Brennan, who has served presidents from both parties, has been a staunch critic of Trump. He wrote in a Thursday opinion piece for the New York Times that the president colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign.
Some of Brennan’s former colleagues in the intelligence community have stood in solidarity with the ex-spy master. Retired Adm. William McRaven, who oversaw the Navy SEAL raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, said Thursday it would be “an honor” for Trump to take away his clearance.
