WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump’s efforts to strip officials’ security clearances (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has filed an amendment to spending legislation that would prevent President Donald Trump from arbitrarily revoking security clearances.
Trump yanked former CIA Director John Brennan’s clearance last week and has threated to pull clearances from his critics and from people who have played a role or a perceived role in the Russia investigation.
The amendment filed Monday by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner to a defense appropriations bill would prohibit using government money to strip security clearances, except as outlined by federal procedure.
Warner says Trump is using his powers to intimidate and silence his opponents and is politicizing a process that’s supposed to be nonpartisan and apolitical. More than 250 former national security officials have chided Trump for his actions.
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12:20 a.m.
Former CIA Director John Brennan says he is considering taking legal action to try to prevent President Donald Trump from stripping other current and former officials’ security clearances.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Brennan said Sunday he’s been contacted by a number of lawyers about the possibility of an injunction in the wake of Trump’s move to revoke his clearance and threaten nine others who have been critical of the president or are connected to the Russia probe.
Brennan, who served in President Barack Obama’s administration, said that while he’ll fight on behalf of his former CIA colleagues, it’s also up to Congress to put aside politics and step in.
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