John Brennan isn’t thrilled about Donald Trump. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Sure — he may seem like a super happy-go-lucky guy in this photo…the kind of fella who might absolutely lead a conga line…
…but the reality is, he ain’t.
And as such, he went on Meet the Press Sunday to tell the NBC audience he’s not above taking the President to court in order to keep him from revoking other people’s security clearances.
“I’m going to do whatever I can personally to try to prevent these abuses in the future and if it means going to court, I will do that.”
Brennan said he’s been contacted by attorneys regarding filing an official complaint against the White House. He’s ready to rumble, and if his suffering is the necessary toll in order to stop the troll at the bridge known as Donald J. Trump, he’s all about it:
“If my clearances and my reputation, as I’m being pulled through the mud now, if that’s the price we’re going to pay to prevent Donald Trump from doing this against other people, to me, it’s a small price to pay. So I am going to do whatever I can, personally, to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future. And if it means going to court, I will do that.”
As indicated in my earlier article, Trump is reportedly considering revoking others’ clearances. Of that group, almost all have been publicly critical of the President.
Brennan certainly falls into the category of the virulently anti-Trump (see more here):
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
In response to Trump’s move against Brennan, many former members of the intelligence community have come to the former CIA director’s defense. In fact, they’ve written a letter of support:
August 16, 2018
STATEMENT FROM FORMER SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS
As former senior intelligence officials, we feel compelled to respond in the wake of the ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House regarding the removal of John Brennan’s security clearances. We know John to be an enormously talented, capable, and patriotic individual who devoted his adult life to the service of this nation. Insinuations and allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Brennan while in office are baseless. Since leaving government service John has chosen to speak out sharply regarding what he sees as threats to our national security. Some of the undersigned have done so as well. Others among us have elected to take a different course and be more circumspect in our public pronouncements. Regardless, we all agree that the president’s action regarding John Brennan and the threats of similar action against other former officials has nothing to do with who should and should not hold security clearances – and everything to do with an attempt to stifle free speech. You don’t have to agree with what John Brennan says (and, again, not all of us do) to agree with his right to say it, subject to his obligation to protect classified information. We have never before seen the approval or removal of security clearances used as a political tool, as was done in this case. Beyond that, this action is quite clearly a signal to other former and current officials. As individuals who have cherished and helped preserve the right of Americans to free speech – even when that right has been used to criticize us – that signal is inappropriate and deeply regrettable.Decisions on security clearances should be based on national security concerns and not political views.
William H. Webster, former Director of Central Intelligence (1987-1991)
George J. Tenet, former Director of Central Intelligence (1997-2004)
Porter J. Goss, former Director of Central Intelligence, (2005-2006)
General Michael V. Hayden, USAF, Ret., former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009)
Leon E. Panetta, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2009-2011)
General David H. Petraeus, USA, Ret., former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2011-2012)
James R. Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence (2010-2017)
John E. McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (2000-2004)
Stephen R. Kappes, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2010)
Michael J. Morell, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2010-2013)
Avril Haines, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2013-2015)
David S. Cohen, former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2015-2017)
Since he lost his clearance, Brennan explained, no one from the White House has reached out to him.
“I was not notified before this happened and I have not heard from anybody since then. To me, that’s not surprising at all, the way this White House and administration works.”
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below. And to John Brennan: if you really DO enjoy the conga, then I sincerely apologize.
Find the relevant RedState pieces linked to in the article above here and here.
For something totally different, please check out my articles on Bill Maher and free speech, a transgender mindbender, and Omarosa vs Lara Trump.
Find all my RedState work here.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member