John Brennan’s Protests to President Trump Lifting his Security Clearances are Absurd John Brennan’s outrage over losing his security clearance is as hollow as the falsehoods he peddled to shield Biden in 2020. By Fred Fleitz
Former CIA Director John Brennan is angry that President Trump signed an executive order last week lifting his security clearances. The president took this action because Brennan was one of 51 former intelligence officers who meddled in the 2020 presidential election by signing a letter they knew falsely claimed a damaging press story about a laptop owned by President Biden’s son Hunter was Russian disinformation.
Brennan indignantly asserted in an MSNBC interview that President Trump’s action was “bizarre” and said he misrepresented the laptop letter, claiming that based on their intelligence experience, the signatories were “deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case.”
Brennan also said he needs to hold security clearances as a former intelligence officer so administration officials can consult with him on national security matters.
Brennan’s objections are absurd and justify the President’s executive order.
Brennan’s claims defending the laptop letter are patently false. The 51 former intelligence officers did not sign the letter as a well-intentioned initiative to warn the American people about a possible Russian attempt to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. They knew this wasn’t true.
We know this because one of the principal organizers of the letter, former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, testified during an investigation by the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees about the letter’s purpose:
“There were two intents. One intent was to share our concern with the American people that the Russians were playing on this issue, and two, it was to help Vice President Biden.”
The House investigation also found that the letter signers were informed “of the intent of the statement prior to its publication, writing that the statement was meant to insulate Vice President Biden from serious electoral vulnerabilities created by his family’s influence peddling activities.”
This means there can be no doubt the laptop letter was an attempt by the 51 former intelligence officers to misuse their intelligence careers to provide political cover for Biden from damaging information that could have cost him the election. They knowingly misled the American people to give Biden a talking point to discredit the laptop story during the final presidential debate, held on October 22, 2020.
There can be no doubt John Brennan knew about all of this.
Brennan also made the preposterous argument that he only held security clearances as a former CIA officer so he could be a resource for the U.S. government. He said in an MSNBC interview:
“The only reason I still had a clearance, as I have had for years since leaving government service, was for the benefit of the government. It was to facilitate classified discussions, should the CIA or any agency need to consult with me or other former directors and members of the intelligence community.”
I don’t doubt that the deeply incompetent Biden administration sought counsel on classified national security matters from disgraced former intelligence officers like John Brennan. However, there is zero chance that anyone in the second Trump administration will ever consult someone like Brennan on any issue.
Brennan omitted the real reason he and most other laptop letter signers held security clearances after they left their intelligence jobs—to make money.
High-level security clearances can be very lucrative for former U.S. government employees because they enable them to obtain highly paid contracts and jobs with defense firms and Beltway consulting companies that do business with intelligence and defense agencies. After intelligence officers retire, many retain their security clearances and return to their old offices as highly paid contractors.
Since resigning as CIA director in January 2017, John Brennan has worked for or advised several defense and intelligence contractors. He served as Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) and CEO of The Analysis Corporation (TAC).
In addition, at least two signers of the Hunter Biden laptop letter, Michael Morell and Jeremy Bash, reportedly have made vast amounts of money working with “special purpose acquisition companies” (SPACs) created to cash in on surging investments by U.S. intelligence agencies in emerging technologies.
Holding a U.S. government security clearance after an intelligence officer resigns is not an entitlement, as John Brennan has implied. It is a privilege that should only be extended when it is in the interest of the U.S. government. Former intelligence officers who use their profession to meddle in elections and mislead the American people undermine our democracy and the U.S. Intelligence Community. They do not deserve the privilege of holding post-employment security clearances.
The Hunter Biden laptop letter scandal also has shed light on the corrupt practice of senior intelligence officers maneuvering to keep their security clearances to enrich themselves after they leave government service and not to promote the security of the United States. The Trump administration must investigate and reform this corrupt practice to ensure that only a limited number of former intelligence officers are permitted to retain their security clearances for urgent national security reasons and on a time-limited basis.
Former CIA Director John Brennan and the other signers of the Hunter Biden laptop letter betrayed their country and their professions by misleading the American people to affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. They should not only be stripped of their security clearances but also barred access to all U.S. government national security buildings and facilities.
CIA employees should never again bump into John Brennan in the agency cafeteria.
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