Donald Trump revokes security clearance of former CIA chief John Brennan

In an unprecedented move, Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA chief and vocal critic John Brennan.

President Donald Trump is revoking the security clearance of former Obama administration CIA director John Brennan.

Donald Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA chief and vocal critic John Brennan, warning that other national security opponents may be also be stripped of clearances.

In a move aimed at punishing his most outspoken national security and law enforcement critics, the president named a list of former intelligence, FBI and Obama administration officials whose continued access to classified information would be reviewed.

These included the recently sacked FBI agent Peter Strzok and his former FBI lover Lisa Page, former director of national intelligence James Clapper and former CIA director Michael Hayden. All have been critical of Mr Trump.

Mr Trump said today that the security clearance of Mr Brennan, CIA director from 2013 to 2017, needed to be revoked in view of his recent “erratic conduct and behaviour’’.

“First, at this point in my administration, any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Mr Brennan are now outweighed by the risk posed by his erratic conduct and behaviour,” Mr Trump said in a statement read by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

“Second, that conduct and behaviour has tested and far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due to him,” Mr Trump “Mr Brennan has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility.”

After Mr Trump’s surprise decision was made public, Mr Brennan quickly hit back, accusing the president of trying to curb free speech in a “politically motivated” action that he said should “gravely worry all Americans.”

This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent. https://t.co/TNzOxhP9ux

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 15, 2018

A day before the announcement, Mr Brennan denounced the president on Twitter after he described the former White House aide-turned-Trump critic Omarosa Manigault Newman as a “crazed crying lowlife’ and a “dog’’.

Mr Brennan tweeted: “It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to the minimum standards of decency, civility and probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent and honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our nation.’’

It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility, & probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent, & honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our Nation. https://t.co/eI9HaCec1m

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) August 14, 2018

Mr Brennan’s relationship with Mr Trump has been fraught ever since the president assumed office early last year but it worsened after last month’s Helsinki summit between Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump was infuriated when Mr Brennan tweeted: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanours’. It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”

Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018

The president fired back: “I think Brennan is a very bad guy, and if you look at it, a lot of things happened under his watch, I think he’s a very bad person.”

In his statement today Mr Trump said: “Historically, former heads of intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been allowed to retain access to classified information after their government service so that they can consult with their successors regarding matters about which they may have special insights and as a professional courtesy. Neither of these justifications supports Mr Brennan’s continued access to classified information.”

The decision follows through on a threat made by Mr Trump last month to examine the security clearances of key intelligence and law enforcement figures.

That list included the former FBI director James Comey and former deputy director Andrew McCabe and former national security adviser Susan Rice.

But the list has now been expanded to include former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former Justice Department official Bruce Ohs as well as Mr Strzok and Ms Page who swapped anti-Trump texts despite Mr Strzok’s role as a key investigator in the Hillary Clinton email and Russia probes.

The decision to revoke Mr Brennan’s clearance was made by the president and the current national director of intelligence Dan Coats was not consulted.

Mr Comey and Mr McCabe have said already that they no longer have security clearances while Mr Clapper said he had not used his since he resigned as national director of intelligence in January last year.

Mr Clapper said Mr Trump’s announcement was “unprecedented’’ and was a political attempt to infringe on the right of former national security officials to criticise the president.

He said the fact that the White House removed Mr Brennan’s clearance rather than the CIA proved that it was a political decision, unrelated to intelligence or national security.

Mr Hayden, CIA director from 2006 to 2009, tweeted “with regard to the implied threat today that I could lose my clearance, that will have no impact on what I think, say and write.”

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia.