White House Isn't Done Yet, Preparing To Revoke Even More Security Clearances - Report
If you thought the liberal left was howling when President Donald Trump stripped former CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance, you haven’t seen anything yet. Word is more security clearances are about to be stripped.
Trump issued a statement about revoking Brennan’s security clearance, noting the acerbic, self-described behavior of the “nonpartisan American.”
“Additionally, Mr. Brennan has recently leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive information to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations — wild outbursts on the internet and television — about this Administration. Mr. Brennan’s lying and recent conduct, characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary, is wholly inconsistent with access to the Nation’s most closely held secrets and facilitates the very aim of our adversaries, which is to sow division and chaos.”
Brennan launched a counter-offensive on Twitter, claiming that Trump’s action was a threat to free speech and critics. This is in spite of the highly-visible Brennan continuous lashing out at Trump on social media and television on a regular basis.
This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent. https://t.co/TNzOxhP9ux
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 15, 2018
Some people jumped into the fray, some — including 60 former CIA employees — to defend Brennan’s “honor.” Others joined the melee in order to point out a few verifiable facts in relation to it. Former Army Ranger and Benghazi hero Kris Paronto was one such warrior.
Paronto fired off a series of shots at and about the disgraced intel agency head, each one a direct hit. One example was specifically about Brennan again complaining about losing his security clearance:
https://twitter.com/KrisParonto/status/1030229119722835968
Rumors have been swirling since, and now the Washington Examiner has written that a report from The Washington Post indicates “the White House is readying formal documents to rescind the security clearances of other former and current government officials.”
According to The Washington Post, the move is because “President Trump has demanded (the current and former officials) be punished for criticizing him or playing a role in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to senior administration officials.”
Additionally, the report claims that “one senior White House official, who indicated that communications aides, including press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bill Shine, the newly named deputy chief of staff, have discussed the optimum times to release them as a distraction during unfavorable news cycles.”
When Trump gave his statement about stripping Brennan of his clearance, he hinted at revoking other clearances as well and explained why. Compare his statement to The Washington Post report and decide for yourself:
“More broadly, the issue of Mr. Brennan’s security clearance raises larger questions about the practice of former officials maintaining access to our Nation’s most sensitive secrets long after their time in Government has ended. Such access is particularly inappropriate when former officials have transitioned into highly partisan positions and seek to use real or perceived access to sensitive information to validate their political attacks.
“Any access granted to our Nation’s secrets should be in furtherance of national, not personal, interests. For this reason, I have also begun to review the more general question of the access to classified information by former Government officials.”
It is worth noting that the usual suspects had a meltdown over Brennan’s clearance being removed from him. However, it was crickets from them when another man’s security clearance was revoked last year.
Perhaps that is because the man is reportedly a Trump supporter who got too close to the alleged anti-Trump spy ring. Therefore, it was deemed better not to draw public attention to it.
Regardless, many Americans have expressed a belief that the establishment media doesn’t act as the fourth estate but as a highly biased and partisan, propagandist entity. With this in mind, it is also their belief that no matter what Trump does, a negative spin will be given to it.
If more security clearances are revoked, such people simply won’t believe any characterization given to the motivation for it from the establishment media. It is also highly unlikely that they will care, given the fact that things such as a booming economy, more jobs, higher wages and lower taxes are among their top concerns.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
