Trump is reportedly eager to revoke more security clearances

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 17 August 2018

Just like you can't eat only one potato chip, President Trump can't revoke just one security clearance.

Trump decided several weeks ago to strip former CIA Director John Brennan of his security clearance, two White House officials told The Washington Post on Thursday, though White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement on Wednesday. The officials said he's told advisers he wants to revoke more security clearances from people linked to the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and he came up with the list that Sanders read on Wednesday.

That list included some people who lost their security clearances when they were fired, like former FBI Director James Comey, but Trump still wanted them named, the Post reports. He thinks by taking on Brennan, it makes him look strong, the officials said, and he could act soon to revoke additional security clearances. This is a new obsession, with Trump becoming focused on the matter this summer. On Wednesday, Sanders said Brennan's "erratic conduct" led Trump to revoke his security clearance, but Trump later told a Wall Street Journal reporter that Brennan and the others "led" the "sham" Russia investigation, "so I think it's something that had to be done."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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