An Attack On Freedom Of Speech

[AGBF]

In another thread I agreed with a poster who wrote that it is inadvisable for us to be distracted by everything Trump does and that we should we should focus on his acts of moment. (I am paraphrasing what she said and, perhaps, misinterpreting what she said as well).

Yesterday when Trump ignored the protocol for the revocation of security clearances (there is a series of steps that must be undertaken and for reason if one is to be revoked), and openly stated that the reason for the revocation was that the holder of the security clearance had criticized him, he was putting himself above the law. He was also attempting to intimidate people by punishing them for speaking openly.

If the country and the government want to protect the security clearance of the president's enemies, they may have to pass legislation to do so now that we have an authoritarian president trying to usurp powers that no president ever tried to usurp before.

It is time for Congress to act. The red light is blinking.

"Trump Revokes Ex-C.I.A. Director John Brennan’s Security Clearance"

"WASHINGTON — In a remarkable attack on a political opponent, President Trump on Wednesday revoked the security clearance of John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director under President Barack Obama, citing what he called Mr. Brennan’s 'erratic' behavior.

The White House had threatened last month to strip Mr. Brennan and other Obama administration officials — including Susan E. Rice, the former national security adviser; and James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence — of their security clearances. At the time, Ms. Sanders said that Mr. Trump was considering doing it because 'they politicized, and in some cases monetized, their public service and security clearances.'

Mr. Trump has questioned the loyalties of national security and law enforcement officials and dismissed some of their findings — particularly the conclusion that Moscow intervened in the 2016 election — as attacks against him.

Mr. Brennan has become a frequent critic of Mr. Trump since the 2016 presidential election, often taking to Twitter to question the president’s ability to serve in the Oval Office.

tweet this week, Mr. Brennan criticized Mr. Trump for the language that the president used to attack Omarosa Manigault Newman, his former top aide, who he called a 'dog.'

Mr. 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.'

Mr. Trump’s decision to revoke Mr. Brennan’s security clearance was announced by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary. Ms. Sanders said the president was reviewing the security clearances of other former officials who have been critics of the president. Those include, among others, Ms. Rice; Mr. Clapper; Michael V. Hayden, the former head of the C.I.A. and National Security Agency; and Sally Q. Yates, the former acting attorney general.

The list also includes a current high-ranking Justice Department official, Bruce Ohr, whom Mr. Trump has criticized on Twitter because of his association with Christopher Steele, who compiled a dossier containing damaging information about Mr. Trump. Mr. Ohr was friends with Mr. Steele, and Mr. Ohr’s wife, Nellie, whom Mr. Trump singled out as 'beautiful' in a tweet over the weekend, worked for Fusion GPS, the research firm that commissioned the dossier.

Ms. Sanders sidestepped a question about why Mr. Trump did not simply fire Mr. 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."

Go to the article for more...https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/us/politics/john-brennan-security-clearance.html

 

[AGBF]

Read this piece in today's edition of "The New York Times" in which Mr. Brennan explains why Mr. Trump revoked his security clearance, and it has to do with Mr. Trump's desire to interfere with the Mueller investigation. Excerpts below.

"John Brennan: President Trump’s Claims of No Collusion Are Hogwash"

"When Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s internal security service, told me during an early August 2016 phone call that Russia wasn’t interfering in our presidential election, I knew he was lying.

(snip)

Russian denials are, in a word, hogwash.

(snip)

Having worked closely with the F.B.I. over many years on counterintelligence investigations, I was well aware of Russia’s ability to work surreptitiously within the United States, cultivating relationships with individuals who wield actual or potential power. Like Mr. Bortnikov, these Russian operatives and agents are well trained in the art of deception. They troll political, business and cultural waters in search of gullible or unprincipled individuals who become pliant in the hands of their Russian puppet masters. Too often, those puppets are found.

In my many conversations with James Comey, the F.B.I. director, in the summer of 2016, we talked about the potential for American citizens, involved in partisan politics or not, to be pawns in Russian hands. We knew that Russian intelligence services would do all they could to achieve their objectives, which the United States intelligence community publicly assessed a few short months later were to undermine public faith in the American democratic process, harm the electability of the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, and show preference for Mr. Trump. We also publicly assessed that Mr. Putin’s intelligence services were following his orders. Director Comey and I, along with the director of the National Security Agency, Adm. Michael Rogers, pledged that our agencies would share, as appropriate, whatever information was collected, especially considering the proven ability of Russian intelligence services to suborn United States citizens.

The already challenging work of the American intelligence and law enforcement communities was made more difficult in late July 2016, however, when Mr. Trump, then a presidential candidate, publicly called upon Russia to find the missing emails of Mrs. Clinton. By issuing such a statement, Mr. Trump was not only encouraging a foreign nation to collect intelligence against a United States citizen, but also openly authorizing his followers to work with our primary global adversary against his political opponent.

Mr. Trump’s claims of no collusion are, in a word, hogwash.

The only questions that remain are whether the collusion that took place constituted criminally liable conspiracy, whether obstruction of justice occurred to cover up any collusion or conspiracy, and how many members of “Trump Incorporated” attempted to defraud the government by laundering and concealing the movement of money into their pockets. A jury is about to deliberate bank and tax fraud charges against one of those people, Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman. And the campaign’s former deputy chairman, Rick Gates, has pleaded guilty to financial fraud and lying to investigators.

Mr. Trump clearly has become more desperate to protect himself and those close to him, which is why he made the politically motivated decision to revoke my security clearance in an attempt to scare into silence others who might dare to challenge him. Now more than ever, it is critically important that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, and his team of investigators be allowed to complete their work without interference — from Mr. Trump or anyone else — so that all Americans can get the answers they so rightly deserve."


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/...rump-russia-collusion-security-clearance.html

 

[AGBF]

"The Real Risk of the John Brennan Episode" (excerpted)

"It may strike fear into the many civil servants and government contractors who need security clearances for their jobs."

By Quinta Jurecic

Ms. Jurecic is the managing editor of Lawfare.

"Toying with access to classified information has become the White House’s go-to method for drawing attention away from screw-ups and scandals. On July 23, the White House faced a grim news cycle in response to President Trump’s disastrous Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Then the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, announced that Mr. Trump was 'looking to take away' the security clearances of a number of former top officials who had criticized him, among them the former C.I.A. director John Brennan.

Early this week, the president flung insults at his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman as speculation heated up over the existence of a tape of Mr. Trump using a noxious racial slur during his tenure on 'The Apprentice.' Then on Wednesday, Ms. Sanders began her press briefing with a notice that the president had stripped Mr. Brennan of his clearance.

It has become cliché to complain about the Trump administration’s use of distractions to divert the press from unwelcome news, but this time the White House didn’t even put any effort into hiding it. The document announcing Mr. Trump’s decision was dated July 26 — suggesting strongly that the White House had been saving it for a rainy day. (After this was pointed out, the administration quickly issued a second, undated copy.) What's more, Mr. Trump himself told The Wall Street Journal that he had revoked Mr. Brennan's clearance because of the former official's role in leading 'the rigged witch hunt.'

On one level, this particular distraction is vindictive but unimportant. John Brennan will be fine, and so will most of the other officials — including James Comey, Sally Yates and James Clapper — whose clearances Ms. Sanders threatened during the briefing. They have the power and visibility to continue criticizing the president as loudly as they like on cable news — and on Twitter, where Mr. Brennan has taken to attacking Mr. Trump as 'treasonous' and 'disgraceful.'

The real risk is that this will strike fear into the many civil servants and government contractors who need security clearances for their jobs. As with the humiliation of Mr. Strzok, the message here for less prominent public servants is that the president has the power to destroy your livelihood if you voice dissent. And Mr. Trump appears to have taken his action without going through any process or consulting the relevant intelligence leadership, making this another exercise in unilateral norm-busting."

 

[tkyasx78]

I stand with Mr brennan. I stand with admiral McRaven who said it would be honored to have his named removed.

It will be an honor . When all is said and done these men who spent their lives fighting for our country will be remembered for being the HEROS they are.

Congress is defending trump still. But these men will not back down and they are the true defenders of our country and our constitution.

Tonight I am thankful that there are people in the world like director Brennan and admiral mcRaven .
We all owe them a debt of gratitute. Not just for their lifetimes of service, but for the courage and integrity they hold.

 

[tkyasx78]

https://www.google.com/amp/thehill....den-raid-to-trump-revoke-my-clearance-too?amp

He is a hero and a patriot.

 

[tkyasx78]

——————letter to trump from a honorable man Admiral McRaven————————-

Dear Mr. President:

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

Like most Americans, I had hoped that when you became president, you would rise to the occasion and become the leader this great nation needs.

A good leader tries to embody the best qualities of his or her organization. A good leader sets the example for others to follow. A good leader always puts the welfare of others before himself or herself.
Your leadership, however, has shown little of these qualities. Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.

If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress the voices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken. The criticism will continue until you become the leader we prayed you would be.

————————————————————————

 

[AGBF]

https://www.google.com/amp/thehill.com/homenews/administration/402207-commander-of-bin-laden-raid-to-trump-revoke-my-clearance-too?amp

He is a hero and a patriot.

Thank you so much, tkyasx, for highlighting Admiral McRaven's quick act of bravery. Broadcasters on MSNBC have been saying that if Trump was not met with immediate resistance, that the slow pulling of security clearances would become "the new normal"", that we would all become accustomed to it over time as we have become accustomed to so many of Donald Trump's outrageous actions.

There is a reason that John Brennan was chosen as the first person to have his security clearance revoked: Trump thought he could get away with it. Brennan has been outspoken in his criticism of the Trump administration. Had other people not come forward, Trump could easily have accelerated our slide down the slippery slope on which he has launched us.

If Trump follows through with his threat to pull James Comey's security clearance, Trump will be committing the federal crime of retaliating against a witness.* The intelligence community is all standing together behind John Brennan.

Deb/AGBF

*https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/re...rance-federal-crime-trump-says-msnbc-analyst/

 

[AGBF]

As stated above, Mr. Brennan and Admiral McRaven were immediately supported by the entire intelligence community. They wrote an open letter to President Trump rebuking him for taking Mr. Brennan's security clearance. The letter they wrote is included in the article excerpted below.

Excerpted from "Los Angeles Times"
"12 former top intelligence officials back Brennan, assail Trump's 'deeply regrettable' action"
By Eli Stokols
Aug 16, 2018

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, center, is among those who signed a letter criticizing President Trump's action. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

"In a remarkable rebuke to President Trump, a dozen former U.S. intelligence chiefs signed a harshly worded letter Thursday in support of former CIA Director John Brennan after Trump abruptly revoked his security clearance.

'We feel compelled to respond in the wake of the ill-considered and unprecedented remarks and actions by the White House,' reads the letter from the officials, who served both Democratic and Republican presidents.

Signing the letter was a virtual who’s who of American spy chiefs dating back to the late 1980s, a striking show of solidarity from the top ranks of the national security establishment.

They included former directors of central intelligence William Webster, George Tenet and Porter Goss; former CIA directors Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta and David Petraeus; former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; and former deputy CIA directors John McLaughlin, Stephen Kappes, Avril Haines, David Cohen and Michael Morell.

The letter followed an angry open letter to Trump from retired Adm. William McRaven, who headed U.S. Joint Special Operations Command and oversaw the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In an op-ed published by the Washington Post, he excoriated Trump’s 'McCarthy-era tactics' and said he would 'consider it an honor' for Trump to revoke his security clearance in solidarity with Brennan."

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Whatever became of “I wholly disapprove of what you say and will defend to the death your right to say it.”?

 

[AGBF]

Whatever became of “I wholly disapprove of what you say and will defend to the death your right to say it.”?

As ksinger has pointed out, speaking out has consequences. So not everyone must be tolerant of everyone else.

In the United States, however, the government is not supposed to bring legal sanctions against people who exercise free speech. If there is a loop hole now, and the president can remove security clearances from people who criticize him it behooves another branch of government to rein him in because this is not the spirit of the law. The Bill of Rights clearly meant that the government was not to limit free speech. And if the executive branch is starting to limit it, the legislative branch should pass a law that makes it impossible for him to do so anymore. Or someone should sue and the judicial branch should rule that the executive branch has over-reached its authority.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I think politics is what happened to it Madam. Standing steadfast with a political party apparently trumps integrity and honor. It is this division in our country today that is tearing at the very foundation.

It is time for our elected officials - regardless of their party affiliation - to take a stand for what they believe on a variety of issues and not tow the party line.