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highplainsdem

(48,650 posts)
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:30 PM Aug 2018

White House drafts more clearance cancellations demanded by Trump

Source: WaPo

The White House has drafted documents revoking the security clearances of current and former officials whom President Trump has demanded be punished for criticizing him or playing a role in the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to senior administration officials.

Trump wants to sign “most, if not all” of them, said 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.

Some presidential aides echoed concerns raised by outside critics that the threatened revocations smack of a Nixonian enemies list, with little or no substantive national security justification. Particular worry has been expressed inside the White House about Trump’s statement Friday that he intends “very quickly” to strip the clearance of current Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

-snip-

The senior White House official acknowledged that the step against Brennan had been prepared in late July, when Sanders first said Trump was considering it. But the decision to take that step was made this week to divert attention from nonstop coverage of a critical book released by fired Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-intelligence-officials-rebuke-trump-for-pulling-brennans-security-clearance/2018/08/17/ea8382f2-a20d-11e8-8e87-c869fe70a721_story.html



Not at all surprised by this, especially after reading in a WaPo story last night that Trump thought his revocation of Brennan's security clearance had made him look good.

For Trump, this is the WH equivalent of snarling "You're fired!" on his very phony reality TV show.
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Historic NY

(37,449 posts)
1. If they ever said they worked for Trump they will never ever get a government job again,
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:32 PM
Aug 2018

who would trust them

Achilleaze

(15,543 posts)
2. If republicans let their Draft-Dodging a-hole "leader" shitcan veterans who
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:34 PM
Aug 2018

have given their lives to defending America, then you know they are completely corrupted. No hope of them ever standing up for American democracy. They have shit their own beds, damn them.

FailureToCommunicate

(13,968 posts)
3. Trump -or some clever minion- is making it hard or impossible for these patriots to testify against
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:39 PM
Aug 2018

him. No clearance, no reviewing their files for testimony, no witness.

Fullduplexxx

(7,811 posts)
4. The entire gop is behind this also . Be great oppo .... gop soft on terror fire
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:40 PM
Aug 2018

Verteran spy hunters leaving us vulnerable

central scrutinizer

(11,609 posts)
10. So it's all about national security?
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 08:59 PM
Aug 2018

Which apparently is not all that vital and can wait until a distraction is needed. Fucking bullshit!

cstanleytech

(26,026 posts)
14. I have a dream where we win back the Whitehouse and one of the first executive orders
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 09:39 PM
Aug 2018

our president signs revokes the security clearances for every Repugnant in the private sector while restoring it to those Trump took it away from.

emulatorloo

(43,922 posts)
15. "But the decision to take that step was made this week to divert attention" from Omarosa's book
Fri Aug 17, 2018, 11:17 PM
Aug 2018

I figured as much. Disgusting.

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