White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Monday that President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearance of former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Sanders reportedly said this is because the former officials “politicized” their roles and “monetized their clearances.” This language echoes tweets from Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) from Monday morning. “Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance?” Paul asked.
Is John Brennan monetizing his security clearance? Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks on @realDonaldTrump ?
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 23, 2018
Indeed, Sanders’ announcement comes around the same time that Paul confirmed he had just met with President Trump, where he asked that Brennan and other officials have their clearances revoked.
Just got out of WH meeting with @realDonaldTrump. I restated to him what I have said in public: John Brennan and others partisans should have their security clearances revoked.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 23, 2018
“The fact that people with security clearances are making baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence,” Sanders said. She also said Trump may revoke clearance from former NSA Director Michael Hayden, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice.
[Image via Win McNamee/Getty Images]
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