Former Deputy State Department spokesperson Adam Ereli said Monday that revoking the security clearances of multiple top Obama-era officials would "ring alarm bells" in Washington.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said at Monday's press briefing that President Trump is looking into revoking clearances for former FBI Director James Comey, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and former Director of National Security Michael Hayden.
"I think that we're going down a slippery slope," Ereli said. "Who's to decide what's political and what's not political?"
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) had earlier in the day called for Trump to revoke Brennan's security clearance, questioning whether the former CIA director was “monetizing” his ability to access to information while in his roles at NBC News and MSNBC.
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
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Ereli said that the potential to remove security clearances seems to be a way of lashing out at President Trump's critics.
"Attacking them this way or going after them in this way or slanting the playing field in this way seems to me to set a pretty dangerous precedent," he said.
Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 23, 2018
Ereli also probed why Brennan's scathing tweet criticizing Trumps' meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin could potentially encourage retaliation from Trump.
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
Sen. Paul’s concerns come as other congressional Republicans have pushed for Brennan to testify about Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election.
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