![]() ![]() Prior to that, Brennan served for more than two decades as a career CIA official. Alex Wong/Getty Imagesīefore serving as homeland security adviser and later CIA Director under President Barack Obama, Brennan served as the inaugural director of the National Counterterrorism Center under President George W. Brennan was expected to face sharp questioning on the US military drone program in addition to questions about his nomination to head the CIA. US Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John Brennan, nominated by US President Barack Obama to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee February 7, 2013, in Washington. While Brennan has been a vocal critic of the President since Trump took office – calling him unfit to serve – he is well-regarded by both Republicans and Democrats as a seasoned national security expert. The White House provided no evidence that Brennan has misused his security clearance since leaving government.ĭirector of National Intelligence Dan Coats, the top Trump-appointed intelligence official, was not consulted on revoking Brennan’s clearance, an official with knowledge of the matter told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. The decision comes as the White House is looking to turn the page on a news cycle that for several days has been dominated by startling allegations leveled against Trump by Omarosa Manigault-Newman, a former senior White House official and longtime Trump adviser. My principles are worth far more than clearances. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. I will not relent,” Brennan tweeted after the announcement. “This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Security clearances: What exactly can Trump do? Brennan’s lying and recent conduct characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary is wholly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets.”īrennan is the first former national security official to see his security clearance revoked since the White House announced last month that Trump was considering taking that action against several of his most vocal critics in the national security world. Today, in fulfilling that responsibility, I have decided to revoke the security clearance of John Brennan, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency,” Trump said in a statement dictated in the White House briefing room by his press secretary Sarah Sanders. “I have a unique constitutional responsibility to protect the nation’s classified information, including by controlling access to it. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he has revoked former CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance, marking an unprecedented use of a president’s authority over the classification system to strike back at one of his prominent critics. ![]()
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