Wait, what?
Posted on 08/17/2018 9:05:53 PM PDT by hapnHal
Two retired colonels say former Secretary of State and failed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should have had her security clearance pulled. One, retired Col. James Williamson, was surprised Clinton was not included in the White House’s announcement that it was considering revoking six former national security officials’ security clearances. The colonels’ organization, OPSEC, twice asked then-Secretary of State John Kerry in 2015 to suspend the security clearances of Hillary Clinton and her aides, Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, and Jacob Sullivan. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was not named in the White House’s Monday announcement that it was considering revoking six former national security officials’ security clearances, a 33-year special forces veteran noticed.
President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of former CIA Director John Brennan; Comey; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; former Director of National Security Michael Haden; former National Security Adviser Susan Rice; and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Those former officials have criticized Trump, yet Clinton — the president’s 2016 rival — was not included on the list.
“Frankly, I was shocked that Hillary, the chief culprit, was omitted,” retired Col. James Williamson told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Williamson, who was in special operations for 30 years and has held a top-level security since 1982, is president of OPSEC, a nonpartisan organization representing retired special forces and intelligence community officials.
“There is more than ample evidence that Hillary Clinton committed, whether its gross negligence, or, as [former FBI Director James] Comey would like to say, extreme carelessness,” Williamson told TheDCNF. “Just from the documented evidence, there was enough to prosecute. If there’s evidence to prosecute, then there’s certainly grounds to pull somebody’s clearance.”
OPSEC Vice President retired Col. James Waurishuk agreed.
Clinton “moved classified information from the State Department to a private server,” Waurishuk, who served on the National Security Council and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The DCNF. “Her clearance should have been immediately revoked and proper action taken to have her removed. She still carries that crime.”
“She was a risk,” he continued. “That is one of the things you look at. Is this person a risk? And yes, she was a risk. From that standpoint, she should have her clearance revoked.”
The organization has been largely supportive of Trump’s foreign and military policies.
OPSEC wrote to then-Secretary of State John Kerry twice in 2015, asking him to suspend Clinton’s security clearance in the wake of disclosures that she sent all of her official government emails through a private server that was housed in her private home in upstate New York.
An Aug. 5, 2015 letter asked Kerry to suspend the security clearance since there was evidence her server had been hacked.
“Unfortunately, there is ample evidence that this private server was inadequately protected from foreign intelligence penetration and malicious ‘hacking,’” the letter said.
An Aug. 15 letter said, “When you recklessly compromise Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information, you compromise the security of the United States.”
“We now know Mrs. Clinton’s personal email and server contained national security intelligence classified at the highest possible level,” it continued. “Because it was on her personal system and the information was classified at the time the emails were sent, that intelligence is now considered to be compromised.”
“The standard procedure is that all individuals involved would have their access to classified information suspended pending an investigation,” the letter stated with emphasis added.
The letters also suggested that Kerry suspend the security clearances for three of Clinton’s top aides: Cheryl Mills, Huma Abedin, and Jacob Sullivan.
Comey, as then-FBI director, said during a July 5, 2016 announcement that Clinton’s email server held “very sensitive, highly classified information.”
The former head of the FBI said investigators didn’t find “direct evidence” her server was hacked by hostile actors, but added that, “given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess that we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence.”
“We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account,” he continued.
Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary, said on July 12 that the intelligence community’s inspector general told him Clinton’s emails were sent to “an unauthorized source that was a foreign entity unrelated to Russia.”
“The importance of a clearance can’t be overstated in maintaining the national security of this country and its operative,” Williamson told The DCNF. “Like we’ve seen in the past, compromising any type of classified information can have truly lethal consequences where people die. And it’s happened.”
Hillary’s handling of classified information is terrible. If she still has a clearance it should be revoked.
Just read on the Qanon thread that Hillary was taken in by the Seals - No joke!
WHAT ABOUT THE KENYANESIAN USURPER?!?!?
I agree entirely. But, seriously, who the heck is going to do that?
Hillary is a proven security risk yet is not prosecuted and keeps her security clearance. Hillary must be deemed too big to touch by everyone including Trump.
Bill has security clearance forever, so it’s pointless to remove Hillary’s.
Why should anyone maintain a security clearance of any kind after they’ve left government service?
It’s a revelation to me that anyone does. I had no idea this was common practice.
Obama
people no longer employed to perform work involving secret or sensitive defense information... should not continue to have access to it
its pretty basic, really.. the entire classified info system depends on ‘need to know’ access
And you were taken in by a joke -- no Seals!
True that, but he is also bound by the repercussions of abuse of that privilege just as Obozo is
As is Shillary, Hey Billy thats not a necktie their puttin round your neck
Hilary is a criminal. She took millions in bribes paid to her daughter and husband in that phony foundation in exchange for acts as Secretary of State . This was even worse that her illegal server and blatant breaches of national security . Yet nothing is done? Why?
Hillary has a protective bubble around her... It’s called the democrat party.
Are you sure about that?
Presidents don't need to be cleared (imagine the Obama Regime clearing the newly elected DJT!). Presidents automatically have the highest clearance despite never actually having been cleared. So wouldn't there need to be a process to clear them when they leave office?
I shall make a prediction:
Hillary WILL HAVE HER DAY.
Wait, what?
I don’t understand why anyone not currently employed or contracted by the government in a position which requires access to high security materials should have a security clearance. That includes Brennan, Clinton, anyone else.
Government contractors move from
place to place. They might work
for a private company for a couple
years, and then again enter the
government sector. Complete background
checks are very expensive and time
consuming. This is why clearances
are time rated. Top secret clearances
are up for review every five years,
a secret level clearance is up for
review every ten years.
Trump is revoking clearances, which
means these rats will never again
be able to obtain a government position
where a security clearance is required.
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.