August 17, 2018: C.I.A. Directors Who Served Every President from Ronald Reagan until Trump, Lodge Protest

 

8/17/18: The president revokes the security clearance of John Brennan, former head of the C.I.A. According to White House Press Secretary Pinocchio Sanders, all is right in the world. Brennan, she tells reporters, has been making “wild accusations” against the Trump administration. 

 

“An attempt to stifle free speech.” 

Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican, calls it the kind of move you see in a “banana republic.” But most GOP leaders are silent or mildly supportive. Sen. John Kennedy says Brennan was being a “butthead.” 

The president is clear about why he does it – and why he plans to revoke the security clearances of others. 

Brennan is a critic.

 

Sean Hannity and the usual sycophants support the move. Lou Dobbs, clearly in need of anger management therapy, shouts, 

John Brennan…has lost his security clearance. And the Swamp hates that. President Trump took away Brennan’s clearance because of Brennan’s “erratic conduct and behavior.” Brennan has been publically attacking Mr. Trump even while he was still director of the C.I.A. Viciously so. And Brennan has broken with tradition and civility: He is the first former intelligence agency head to absolutely politicize his public service, trying to monetize that service, to inject himself into Presidential politics, and to recruit the heads of other intelligence agencies to attack the President of the United States.

Trump’s attempt to punish critics may not bother Dobbs. It bothers quite a few former C.I.A. officials and leaders in U.S. intelligence. First, a dozen former top officials at the C.I.A. sign a letter criticizing the move. 

They warn: 

We feel compelled to respond in the wake of the ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House…We know John to be an enormously talented, capable and patriotic individual who devoted his entire adult life to the service of this nation.

 

The president’s decision, 

…has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances—and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech. You don’t have to agree with what John Brennan says (and, again, not all of us do) to agree with his right to say it, [emphasis added], subject to his obligation to protect classified information.

 

The signers include C.I.A. Directors who served Ronald Reagan and every other president since, save Trump. (You can read their letter here.)

August 19, 2018: Admiral Who Led Raid to Kill bin Laden Protests Trump Decision

 

8/19/18: In protest against the president’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance (see: 8/17/18), Admiral William H. McRaven speaks out. The former commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, McRaven has requested that Trump revoke his security clearance too. 

In a Washington Post editorial, McRaven writes: 

Dear Mr. President:

 

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

 

Therefore, I would consider it an honor [emphasis added] if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

August 20, 2018: Two Hundred Intelligence Officials, Military Leaders and Others Lodge Protest

 

8/20/18: Nearly 200 former intelligence officials, F.B.I agents, U.S. district attorneys, ambassadors and military officers sign a letter condemning President Trump’s decision to strip former C.I.A. head John Brennan of his security clearances. (See: 8/17/18 and 8/19/18.) 

All of us believe it is critical to protect classified information from unauthorized disclosure. But we believe equally strongly that former government officials have the right to express their unclassified views [emphasis added, unless otherwise noted] on what they see as critical national security issues without fear of being punished for doing so.

 

Our signatures below do not necessarily mean that we concur with the opinions expressed by former CIA Director Brennan or the way in which he expressed them. What they do represent, however, is our firm belief that the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views.

 

Trump doesn’t care about “the country.” He’s a thin-skinned little man and can’t stand criticism.

Brennan, center, is the former Director of the C.I.A.