Gen. Tata: 'Communist John Brennan' Never Should Have Had a Security Clearance
U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Anthony Tata (Ret.) said President Trump was justified in revoking the security clearance of John Brennan, who Tata described as a "clear and present danger" to the nation.
Trump on Wednesday revoked the former CIA director's clearance, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced, saying Brennan "has a history that calls his credibility into question."
In response, Brennan tweeted hours later: "This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all American's, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent."
Omarosa played Trump like a banjo. It is obvious. On Tuesday, the networks were ablaze about the contents of Omarosa's book and whether or not there was a tape of Donald saying the "N" word, as if this were some huge national security issue. Trump's moronic, racist, highly insensitive tweets about the former White House official were being repeated ad nauseam on every network.
To rid himself of a pesky, embarrassing issue, on Wednesday, Trump committed an impeachable act. He punished an American citizen for exercising a fundamental First Amendment right and he threatened others for disagreeing with him.
Let's take this by the numbers.
1. Trump says the free press is the real enemy of the people. "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!" -Donald J. Trump
2. Trump has not held a news conference in a month. He is hiding out from reporters, meaning he is avoiding the eyes and ears of the American people.
3. Trump revoked the security clearance of John Brennan, former CIA director, because of Brennan's political views.
4. Expressing one's political views is the hallmark of American democracy and an essential freedom.
Trump said in a statement Wednesday he is still considering revoking the security clearances of several others for their political views: former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA director and National Security Agency chief Michael Hayden, former deputy attorney general Sally Yates, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, former FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, and Bruce Ohr, a current Justice Department official.
The White House provided no evidence that Brennan has misused his security clearance since leaving government.
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, the top Trump-appointed intelligence official, was not consulted on revoking Brennan's clearance, neither was Gina Haspel, current CIA director.
If the President of the United States punishes a person or persons for exercising their inalienable rights without cause that is an impeachable offense. Trump is President at the pleasure of the American people. He is answerable to the American people. He may think so temporarily because of the meekness of Republicans in Congress, but Trump is not an autocrat.
This all came about for two reasons. First and foremost, Trump's abject stupidity. Revoking their security clearances will not shut anyone up. If anything, they will become more vocal. There is no evidence any Trump critic revealed classified information.
Second, the endeavors of an unreliable opportunist. The nation owes Omarosa a debt of gratitude.