Even as they rally to ex-CIA Director John Brennan’s defense after President Trump yanked his security clearance, some high-ranking former intelligence and military officials are simultaneously chastising Brennan for his overtly anti-Trump rhetoric.
“John is an extraordinary servant of the country, but I think he has been incredibly critical of the president and I think that has put him in a political place which actually does more damage for the intelligence community, which is apolitical, even as he’s retired,” retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”
“I really don’t support him being as critical of the president as he has been,” continued Mullen, who served both former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Despite the harsh rebuke of Brennan, Mullen also compared the White House’s move of pulling the clearance from critical ex-officials to acts that would have been committed in the Richard Nixon or Sen. Joseph McCarthy eras. He said Trump’s threat to pull security clearances of his critics is evidence that the president is “creating a list of political enemies.”
Meanwhile, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who served both Democratic and Republican administrations, described Brennan’s public statements Sunday as becoming “an issue in and of itself.”
“John is subtle like a freight train and he’s gonna say what’s on his mind,” Clapper told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think, though, that the common denominator among all of us that have been speaking up, though, is genuine concern about the jeopardy and threats to our institutions and values, although we may express that in different ways.”
Clapper was one of 13 top former senior intelligence officials who signed a letter last week in support of Brennan.
The mixed messages come as Brennan “very much” stood by his claims Sunday that Trump’s behavior at his joint Helsinki press conference with Russia President Vladimir Putin in July was “treasonous.”
“Well, I called his behavior treasonous, which is to betray one’s trust, and to aid and abet the enemy, and I stand very much by that claim,” Brennan said to NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Brennan reiterated his justification of Trump warranting extra scrutiny because “these are abnormal times.” Along with saying he is considering legal action against Trump to prevent him from revoking security clearances from others who have been critical of the commander in chief, Brennan also denied that he is being a partisan.
“I think I need to speak out. And so I’ve been speaking out rather forcefully because I believe it’s important to do so,” he said. “I don’t believe I’m being political at all. I’m not a Republican, I’m not a Democrat.”
[New: Trump dares Brennan to sue over his revoked security clearance]
Brennan’s antagonistic approach has made it more politically palatable for Republican lawmakers to side with the Trump administration over what was referred to as an “unprecedented” decision given the lack of consultation conducted by the White House before press secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday announced the revocation. Sanders said at the time that Brennan, an MSNBC contributor, had been ripped of his clearance due to “a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations — wild outbursts on the Internet and television — about this administration.”
“I don’t want this to become routine, but again, John Brennan really did cross the line,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who chairs the Senate’s Homeland Security Committee, said to “Fox News Sunday.” “He’s one of the leaders of the resistance movement. I understand why President Trump is pretty frustrated.”
National security adviser John Bolton defended Trump Sunday to ABC News’ “This Week,” arguing Brennan had politicized intelligence.
But Leon Panetta, a former Democratic congressman turned Obama CIA director and defense secretary, denied Sunday that intelligence figures should be held to a higher standard when it comes to public commentary.
“I’m a believer in the broad interpretation of the right of free speech in this country. The president certainly exercises it, and I think all of us have a right to exercise that,” he told CBS News on “Face the Nation.”
What is clear is that past tensions between the White House and the intelligence community and the military are yet to heal.
“It’s dangerously close to being permanently broken. It’s badly injured right now,” former National Security Agency and CIA Director Michael Hayden said to CNN Sunday, referring specifically to Trump’s own intel community.
