Surely there must be a leftist judge out there just itching to reinstate Brennan’s clearance.../s
“just itching to reinstate Brennan’s clearance..”
The judge can’t. Not even the supreme court can. The judicial branch of the government cannot force the recovery or assignment of a security clearance.
Executive Order 10450, signed into legislation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 17, 1952, gives certain United States agencies the legal right to determine who is trustworthy enough to have access to sensitive government information. Executive Order 10450 was signed into legislation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 17, 1952. Each government agency that provides top secret clearance has the obligation to ensure that recipients are loyal to the United States, display good character and conduct, and pose no threat to national security.
Only federal government agencies can provide someone with top secret security clearance. These include federal law enforcement agencies (DEA, NCIS, FBI and Secret Service personnel), intelligence gathering agencies (NSA and CIA), diplomatic agencies (State Department) and civilian military agencies (DIA and DSS). Certain organizations such as research facilities and think tanks can also provide top secret security clearance, but only if they have a contract with a federal agency that is authorized to provide the clearance. And they still must have the “need to know” to get access to sensitive information commensurate with the level of clearance. Even the president must have a need to know to harvest sensitive information at any level.
Brennan currently serves as a senior national security and intelligence analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He does not need a clearance for anything. He is not a government employee and if he tries to use a former clearance, he can be arrested for espionage.
rwood