Security Clearances

The latest dust up that the Trump haters have latched onto is the revocation of John Brennan's security clearance.  Normally I'd feel obligated to explain the situation to put things in context.  But with the way the media is today, if you don't know what's happened...well then you must be living under a rock.  So I'll take it on faith that you've heard about the Administration revoking his clearance, the outrage from some quarters and the support from others.  It might not surprise you to learn that I'm in the support camp.

Simply put, Brennan is a jackass.  He's a career bureaucrat in the intelligentsia and has been an embarrassment.  I've seen him testify, seen him on cable channels, and heard his line for a long time.  He is an opportunist and clearly considers himself the smartest guy in the room.  And he is not just an antagonist for the President.  He is a royal pain in the ass.  He has been a constant detractor since Trump emerged as a Presidential candidate and even went so far as to accuse him of treason in Helsinki.  And that is just BS.

Now, in case you're not versed in security clearances, this is no big deal.  He has obviously had a security clearance with various levels of access, depending the job he held for a long time.  For most people, when they retire or leave a job, they no longer have access to info.  And when the security clearance runs out, it runs out.  Simple as that.  But there is a cadre of folks in DC who get them renewed on the supposition that they are senior people who have a need to know and can advise people in the government.  Okay, I'll buy that.  But there are also a lot of folks who maintain their clearance as an opportunity to receive information that they can use to further their careers as talking heads on one of the cable channels.  Color Brennan in that category.  He clearly used info at his disposal to formulate an opposition to our President.  And it was BS.

Now there are some who are decrying the revocation as an infringement on his right to freedom of speech.  And that is really BS.  Not having a clearance has nothing to do with his right to say anything he wants.  So this argument is totally false and it is frankly embarrassing that some high powered people in government have taken this tact.  The highest profile is probably ADM McRaven, the former Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command and architect of the Bin Laden raid.  Given his status, some are taking notice.  But it doesn't take much more than a Google search to discover that McRaven was a bit Hillary supporter and a never Trumper.  So this is no surprise.

Now Trump is indicating that he might be looking at others.  I say good.  Over the last several weeks it's been proven that there are a lot of folks from the previous administration who are vocally and directly determined to bring him down.  I say don't give them any more ammunition than they already possess from their relationship with others of their same ilk.

But like a lot (most?) of occurrences of hate against the President, I bet this whole thing blows over.  His supporters will clearly be happy about the revocation.  His detractors will be pissed, but there's not much they can do.