President Trump never revoked former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance.
The president announced in August that Brennan’s security clearance was being stripped due to “erratic behavior” that disqualified him from having access to sensitive information.
But the White House never followed through with the complicated bureaucratic process of revocation, a source told the New York Times.
A CIA spokesperson declined to comment, telling the Washington Examiner the agency does not discuss individual security clearances. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
The revelation comes after Trump gave Attorney General William Barr “full and complete authority to declassify information” related to the origins of the federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. A day later, it was reported the order could put at risk a key CIA informant who provided information about the Kremlin’s role in interfering in the 2016 election.
Barr, who asked the White House for the new power, has been reviewing the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign for weeks. Barr tasked U.S. Attorney John Durham with reviewing the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and says he is working closely with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse investigation. Republican allies of Trump say information could soon come out that will show misconduct by Brennan and other former Obama administration leaders.
Although it was widely believed he had lost his clearance, Brennan has on occasion visited Capitol Hill to brief Democrats on national security matters.
Brennan has been an outspoken critic of Trump and his tendency to question the motives of members of the U.S. intelligence community.
He told MSNBC on Friday that Trump’s declassification order was an “outrageous move” that could lead to the release of cherry-picked information taken out of context and expressed concern for “sources and methods” being revealed and put in jeopardy and intelligence allies of the U.S. being endangered.
Brennan also said he hopes Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel will “stand up” to Trump’s “unprecedented act.”
Despite Brennan and the Democrats warning Trump is going too far with his order to declassify sensitive information, Coats offered some reassurance about the limited scope of what can be made available to the public.
“Much like we have with other investigations and reviews, the Intelligence Community will provide the Department of Justice all of the appropriate information for its review of intelligence activities related to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,” Coats said in a statement Friday. “As part of that process, I am confident that the Attorney General will work with the IC in accordance with the long-established standards to protect highly-classified information that, if publicly released, would put our national security at risk.”
