Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of the House Intelligence Committee tore into Donald Trump on Wednesday, explaining that the president’s move to revoke former CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance will make America less safe.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, Swalwell called Trump’s attack on Brennan “scary.”
“The security clearance is not to benefit John Brennan,” the Democratic congressman said. “It is to benefit us.”
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.@RepSwalwell hammers Trump’s move to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/HTMQ3WlkmG
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 16, 2018
Rep. Swalwell said:
I think the big picture here, it makes us less safe. The security clearance is not to benefit John Brennan. It’s not to benefit any of the other administration officials from the Obama administration. It is to benefit us. It’s so that, as people like Gina Haspell, the CIA director, or Mike Pompeo or General Mattis consider threats against the United States and actions they have to take today, they are able to reach back and talk to people who have faced the same threats and able to get their candid advice. That is why it is in place. … So it makes us less safe. … There’s a lot of people just like John Brennan who are speaking out against the president and who now may make this enemies list. That means for our national security that the list of advisors who can consult the administration for the greatest threats that we face will shrink to only include sycophants of the president. And, again, that makes us less safe. And as somebody who looks at these threats every day on the intelligence committee, I can tell you that there are a number of decisions that have to be made that include information that prior administration officials had access to and where we would want their input if it came to a life or death situation.
Trump is actively making America less safe
In his relentless pursuit to save his own skin as Robert Mueller circles around him, Donald Trump is actively making America less safe – and he couldn’t care less. Time and again, this president has shown just how unpatriotic he is. He pledges allegiance only to himself.
Trump can whine about athletes kneeling during the national anthem, but his attacks on the free press, his repeated refusal to stand up to Russia and his disturbing and frequent attempts to undermine fundamental American institutions show that he’s the one tarnishing the stars and stripes.
Trump’s move today may make him feel like a strongman, but it shows how weak he is and it will only make America less safe in the long term.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
