Posted on 07/29/2018 9:33:46 AM PDT by John Semmens
While it is a normal business practice for former employees to turn in their keys and lose access to their employers' confidential communications, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper says the Trump Administration removing his security clearance would be "a low blow."
"I was hired by CNN with the expectation that my continued access to the government's classified information would make my commentary more interesting and credible," Clapper pointed out. "Stripping my clearance from me is a direct attack on my ability to fully monetize my expertise. It will deter my contacts who are current DNI employees from leaking classified information to me because it is a felony to convey classified information to a person not authorized to receive it. Loss of these leaks would put me in the same disadvantageous position as any other private citizen when it comes to knowing what's really going on inside the government and would violate the terms of my contract with CNN."
The Trump Administration would not be the first to cancel former employees' security clearances. Reviewing whether someone no longer employed by the government ought to retain access to classified information is fairly routine. Former President Obama canceled the security clearances of a number of former Bush Administration employees.
Clapper's objection is that his prospective loss of his security clearance is "not routine. The fact that I have been attacking Trump on a regular basis makes it look like it's personal. I view it as my patriotic duty to attack him for his unfitness to serve as president. I am only continuing the effort of the intelligence community to prevent the nation from the harm he is causing to the country. Just because we weren't able to prevent his election doesn't relieve us of the obligation to continue the fight. Tying my hands by revoking my security clearance is an unfair tactic that would, by itself, further demonstrates his unfitness for office."
NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian confirmed Clapper's assessment of the financial impact that losing his security clearance will have on him saying "the only thread of credibility we have for interviews with these guys is the supposition that they have 'real intelligence' backing up what they say. If everyone knows they lost their clearance this thread will have been snipped. So, yeah, their gigs with the cable networks would be endangered if that happened."
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md) agreed with Clapper's complaint and characterized the canceling of security clearances as "something a totalitarian regime would do. The work of Clapper, Brennan, and the other former intelligence officials to take down the rogue Trump regime is in the vital interest of the American people. Access to classified materials is their key weapon in this fight. Disarming them in this way is same the kind of thing Hitler and Stalin did to make their enemies helpless to defend themselves."
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,326247.0.html
Tough $hit.
We called that Tough Shitski in Russia.
Now that there is funny!
Where is the satire?
How can you tell what is true and what is satire?
Dear James;
When you worked for the government you had a “need to know” as you advised the President and in theory protected the country.
Now that you work for CNN, what is your “need to know” classified information? Is it to leverage personal monetary gain as a conduit form government paid for research to you? If so you have no valid reason for a security clearance until you are again (if ever) a federal employee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.