WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday revoked the security clearance of John Brennan, the former CIA director under President Barack Obama, citing what he called Brennan's "erratic" behavior.
Later, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump drew a connection between the Russia investigation and his decision, citing Brennan as among those he held responsible for the investigation's beginnings.
"I call it the rigged witch hunt, (it) is a sham," Trump told the Journal, which posted the story on its website Wednesday night. "And these people led it!"
"So I think it's something that had to be done," he said of his decision.
Brennan has become a frequent critic of Trump, often taking to Twitter to question the president's ability to serve in the Oval Office.
In a tweet this week, Brennan criticized Trump for the language the president used to attack former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, whom Trump called a "dog."
Brennan wrote: "It's astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility, & probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent, & honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our Nation."
He said of Trump's order Wednesday: "This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out." Brennan said he learned of Trump's action only when the White House announced it.
Trump is also reviewing security clearances of other former officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a White House news briefing.
"First, at this point in my administration, any benefits that senior officials might glean from consultations with Mr. Brennan are now outweighed by the risk posed by his erratic conduct and behavior," Trump said in a statement read by Sanders at Wednesday's briefing.
"Second, that conduct and behavior has tested and far exceeded the limits of any professional courtesy that may have been due to him," Trump said in the statement. "Mr. Brennan has a history that calls into question his objectivity and credibility."
Trump told the Journal that he was prepared to yank Brennan's clearance last week but that it was too "hectic."
Last month, Sanders said Trump was "looking to take away" the clearances of Brennan, Comey and several other former senior national security and intelligence officials who served in the administrations of George W. Bush or Obama.
Those officials included former CIA Director Michael Hayden, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
On Wednesday, Sanders expanded that list to include former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and former FBI agent Peter Strzok.
Yates was fired by Trump last year after she defied the president and ordered federal attorneys not to defend his travel ban. Strzok and Page became the centerpiece of Republicans' efforts to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe after anti-Trump texts between the two were revealed last year. The FBI announced this week that Strzok was fired over the texts.
The list also includes a current high-ranking Justice Department official, Bruce Ohr, whom Trump has criticized on Twitter because of his association with Christopher Steele, who compiled a dossier containing damaging information about Trump. Ohr was friends with Steele, and Ohr's wife, Nellie, worked for Fusion GPS, the research firm that commissioned the dossier.
Sanders sidestepped a question about why Trump did not simply fire Ohr, rather than threaten to revoke his security clearance, which would render him unable to do his job. She said she had no personnel changes to announce.
Former high-ranking officials in defense, intelligence, diplomacy and law enforcement usually maintain their clearances to advise those still in government. A clearance also serves a more personally profitable function: helping departing officials get jobs at security contractors or similar firms.
Revoking their access to classified information could weaken their ability to work as consultants, lobbyists and advisers in Washington. Nearly 4.1 million people have security clearances, according to the most recent report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Trump did not order a review of the clearance held by former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired from the White House for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian officials and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the same issue.
DEMOCRATS CRY OUT
The announcement Wednesday that Brennan's clearance had been revoked triggered an outcry from critics who argued that the move was aimed at silencing critics of the president.
In an appearance on CNN shortly after Sanders' appearance in the White House briefing room, Clapper described the move as "unprecedented" and an "infringement on our rights of speech," noting that all of the former officials on Trump's list have been outspoken in their criticism of Trump at one point or another.
Clapper maintained that the move would not affect his own decision on whether to speak out against the president.
"If they're saying that the only way I can speak is to be in an adulation mode of this president, I'm sorry, I don't think I can sign up for that," he said.
Some Democrats argued that by revoking Brennan's clearance, the White House was aiming to change the narrative away from several days of damaging coverage of Trump's escalating feud with Manigault Newman over her accusations that Trump is racially biased.
"This might be a convenient way to distract attention, say from a damaging news story or two," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said on Twitter. "But politicizing the way we guard our nation's secrets just to punish the President's critics is a dangerous precedent."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump's move demonstrates "how deeply insecure and vindictive he is -- two character flaws dangerous in any President."
"An enemies list is ugly, undemocratic and un-American. I also believe this action to silence a critic is unlawful," Schiff said in a tweet.
Trump's targeting of Brennan also prompted disapproval from within his own party. Alberto Gonzales, attorney general under Bush, said in an appearance Wednesday on Fox News that while Trump appears to have the authority to revoke the clearances, his actions come across as "petty and somewhat childish."
"I think in this position as president of the United States, you're going to be criticized, and people are going to disagree with you, and you have to accept that," Gonzales said, casting doubt on the White House's contention that the revocation was because of national security concerns.
Last month, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had downplayed Trump's threat to revoke the officials' security clearances, telling reporters at the Capitol, "I think he's trolling people, honestly."
Sanders on Wednesday said Brennan had provided inaccurate testimony before Congress. She did not say whether the administration has evidence that Brennan had misused any classified information that he has had access to as a former intelligence official.
She denied that the officials, including Brennan, were chosen because they are all critics of the president.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael D. Shear of The New York Times; by Felicia Sonmez, Karoun Demirjian and Mike DeBonis of The Washington Post; and by Jill Colvin, Zeke Miller and Deb Riechmann of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/16/2018