Trump revoking Brennan security clearance looks like 'implied threat' to former officials
President Trump's decision to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance appears to be a warning meant for other former officials to change what they say about him, according to former CIA chief Michael Hayden.
"The way that [White House press secretary] Sarah Huckabee Sanders rolled this out was almost in a tone to be threatening to the rest of us," Hayden said Wednesday on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
"In other words, it looks to me like an attempt to make us change the things we are saying when we're asked questions on CNN or other networks," added Hayden, who also led the National Security Agency.
The White House announced the controversial decision on Wednesday, accusing Brennan of using his status as a former security official to make “unfounded and outrageous” charges against the president.
“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 facilities, the very aim of our adversaries, which is to sow division and chaos,” according to a statement from the president, read White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during the press briefing.
Sanders, when asked by a reporter whether the president is penalizing Brennan for his critical remarks towards Trump, replied: “Not at all.”
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/402029-hayden-trump-revoking-brennan-security-clearance-looks-like-implied
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