NOVANEWS
But also recognize the danger of Trump abusing his power to punish critics.
john brennan is being punished by not being able to find out who got droned yesterday, i hope he’s ok https://t.co/wD2Y2TFqWp
— libby watson (@libbycwatson) August 15, 2018
But while well-established critics of the American national security state refused to shed a single tear for Brennan—or, for that matter, any of the other former intelligence officials on Trump’s so-called enemies list—the very fact that Trump has such a list and is using the power of the presidency to punish the individuals on it sparked alarm among journalists and civil libertarians.
“The First Amendment does not permit the president to revoke security clearances to punish his critics,” Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, argued in a statement on Wednesday, referring to the fact that the officials on Trump’s list have frequently denounced the president on television.
“Brennan’s record is full of grave missteps, and we have been unsparing in our criticism of his defense of the CIA torture program and his role in unlawful lethal strikes abroad,” Wizner added. “But Trump’s revocation of Brennan’s clearance, and his threats to revoke the clearances of other former officials for the sole reason that they have criticized his conduct and policies, amount to unconstitutional retaliation. They are also part of a broader pattern of seeking to silence or marginalize critics, which includes forcing staff to sign unconstitutional non-disclosure agreements.”
Hina Shamsi@HinaShamsi2 true things:
1. John Brennan ≠ hero. We @ACLU unsparingly criticize his defense of CIA torture & his role in unlawful lethal strikes abroad.
2. The First Amendment doesn’t allow Trump to revoke Brennan’s security clearance to punish political criticism.https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-comment-revocation-john-brennans-security-clearance …ACLU Comment on Revocation of John Brennan’s Security Clearance
NEW YORK — President Trump today revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan.Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology…
aclu.org
The Intercept‘s Glenn Greenwald—who has been similarly unsparing in his assessment of Brennan’s record and dismissive of those who reflexively “revere anyone who occupies high positions in the U.S. national security state”—echoed the ACLU in a series of tweets on Wednesday, noting that while Brennan is a “war criminal” and a “pathological liar,” it is nonetheless “dangerous to allow a president to impose punishments for criticisms.”
Glenn Greenwald✔@ggreenwald
The @ACLU spent years denouncing – and suing over – John Brennan & the Obama Admin’s multiple human rights and legal abuses. But they also today denounced Trump’s revocation of Brennan’s security clearance on the ground that it’s designed to punish critics in violation of the 1A: pic.twitter.com/Wi6sDWkivO
Glenn Greenwald✔@ggreenwald
In sum:
1) @JohnBrennan is a war criminal, a pathological liar & an advocate of torture & torturers.
2) Ex-CIA officials exploiting their security clearance for profit is abusive & they don’t need it.
3) It’s dangerous to allow a President to impose punishments for criticisms.
Medhi Hasan, Greenwald’s colleague at The Intercept, captured the absurdity of Trump’s standard for who should and shouldn’t have access to classified information by noting that the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, still has a security clearance—a fact that clearly shows Trump’s decision to revoke Brennan’s clearance was based on a petty grudge, not any reasonable “national security” concerns.
Mehdi Hasan✔@mehdirhasan
I’m no fan of John Brennan but the idea that the former director of the CIA no longer has security clearance but Jared Kushner – Jared Kushner! – does is just… laughable.
As the New York Times reported on Wednesday, the White House’s statement announcing that Brennan’s security clearance has been revoked was dated July 26—an indication that the decision to punish Brennan was actually made weeks ago, fueling speculation that the Trump administration timed the announcement to control the news cycle and distract from other controversies, such as former White House official Omarosa Manigault Newman’s insistence that Trump is in a state of “mental decline” and that she has a tape of the president using the n-word.
Intended as a distraction or not, former White House ethics chief and chair of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) chair Norm Eisen argued in a tweet on Wednesday that Trump’s revocation of Brennan’s security clearance was a flagrant violation of the Constitution.
“Trump’s action is unconstitutional because he’s punishing political speech, and unethical because he is lying to cover it up,” Eisen concluded.
