"This sort of screams political retribution. This is punitive, this is not security based," says one expert.
ADVERTISEMENTWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is examining whether to revoke the security clearances of former intelligence officials who have criticized him, his spokeswoman said Monday, raising the specter of a president using his office to lash out at his political enemies.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Trump is considering yanking the security clearances of former CIA Director John Brennan, an NBC News contributor; former FBI Director James B. Comey; former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden; former National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice; former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr.; and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Sanders accused those former officials, most of whom have served both Democratic and Republican presidents in various jobs, of having "politicized and in some cases monetized their public service." She added that they have made "baseless claims" about the president's relationship and contacts with the Russian government.
"I don't go back for classified briefings (although they occasionally ask me in to offer a view on something)," Hayden told NBC News. "Won't have any impact on what I say or write."
But, he added, the move "could create a chill that would be bad for policy development."
"It certainly has shadows of some of the worst abuses of the Nixon administration," said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor and national security expert at the University of Texas School of Law who describes himself as a progressive. "This sort of screams political retribution. This is punitive, this is not security based."
Vladeck said Trump can probably override federal regulations and take action himself to remove a person's security clearance.
Clapper told CNN that his security clearance "has nothing to do with how I or any of us feel about the president. And I don't get the briefings. I don't have access to classified information. It's frankly more of a courtesy that former senior officials in the intelligence community are extended the courtesy of keeping the security clearance. Haven't had a case to use it and has no bearing whatsoever on my regard or lack thereof for President Trump or what he's doing."
He added, "I think this is just a very, very petty thing to do. And that's about all I'll say about it."
Brennan and Rice did not have an immediate comment.
Comey and McCabe no longer have clearances, a spokeswoman for them said.
The heads of intelligence agencies typically retain their security clearances unless there is reason to revoke them. There is a public policy reason for that.
It allows them to speak about sensitive matters with their successors, or to Congress. There are some operations or intelligence known to only a small number of people at an agency, including the director.
Michael Flynn, who headed the defense intelligence agency, had a clearance when he was shouting "Lock Her Up" at the Republican National Convention in 2016. He has since lost it, having pleaded guilty to a felony.
Security clearances are also valuable, financially, in the private sector — meaning the president's threat included a potential financial penalty against these people, as well as the other negative consequences losing a clearance would bring.