U.S. Donald Trump is not known for holding back when it comes to his political enemies. He — as a president of the United States — often spends his time squabbling on Twitter with those who dare to disagree with him. This week, his administration turned that squabbling into something a bit more practical, withdrawing former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance.
It was weeks ago when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders first revealed the Trump team was considering the move. It has little practical application; in theory, through something like consulting work, Brennan or anyone else they target could brush up with classified information. However, neither the former CIA director nor any other singled out former official actually deals with such information in their day to day work at the same level they used to.
Other individuals Sanders originally mentioned as in jeopardy of losing their security clearances include former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director Michael Hayden (who served from 2006 through 2009, before Brennan), former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.
Every one of those individuals have, at one time or another, found themselves opposite the Trump administration on an issue. Comey and McCabe both left the FBI in a cloud of controversy grown from Trump’s attacks on the justice system, while Brennan and Clapper left before that but have also been singled out for criticism by the Trump administration. At one point, President Trump referred to Clapper, Brennan, and Comey together as “political hacks” — in the same set of remarks, for the record, that he asserted that he believed Vladimir Putin’s assertions that the Kremlin hadn’t meddled in U.S. elections.
Every one of them have sought to uphold the rule of law in the face of Trump’s attacks; the Trump administration takes their work as a personal slight. At the time of her original revelation of considering revoking security clearances, Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused them of having “politicized and in some cases monetized their public service.”
When revealing Brennan’s clearance was revoked this week, Sanders added that former FBI agent Peter Strzok and ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page are also facing losing their clearances. Neither of them work in government anymore, just like in the case of the other targeted individuals, so it doesn’t really matter. Considering revoking their security clearances amounts to little more than the Trump administration weaponizing the bureaucracy of government to target the president’s political enemies.
Former CIA deputy chief of staff and Brennan adviser Nick Shapiro summed up the situation effectively. When the news first broke that the Trump administration was exploring revoking Brennan’s clearance — which they’ve now done — he commented:
‘One doesn’t need a security clearance to speak out against the failings of Trump. This is a political attack on career national security officials who have honorably served their country for decades under both Repubs & Dems in an effort to distract from Mueller’s investigation.’
Indeed — Shapiro’s right. Special Counsel for the Russia investigation Robert Mueller’s investigation and the rule of law as a whole continue to march forward no matter what detours the Trump administration takes.
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot
