Power Line
Scott Johnson
July 23, 2018
The pseudonymous Ishmael Jones is a former CIA case officer and author of The Human Factor: Inside the CIA’s Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture. Last year we posted his column below in the context of the proliferation of leaks attributed by reporters at the New York Times and the Washington Post to “current and former officials.†Given the White House announcement today that President Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of John Brennan, James Comey et al., the proposal put forward in this column takes on new currency. The CIA had approved the column for publication prior to our posting it last year:Leaks of national security secrets with the intent to harm the Trump administration continue to bedevil our nation. Journalists often describe the sources of the leaks as “current and former officials.†There’s an important solution, and one that the Trump administration may not yet be aware of: Remove the “former officials†from the equation.
Nearly all intelligence officials who are fired, retired, pushed out, or resign from the intelligence agencies keep their security clearances. I do not know the specifics of any individual’s clearances but it is nearly certain that opponents of the current administration such as John Brennan, an aggressive Trump critic; James Clapper, who warns that Trump causes an “internal assault on our institutionsâ€; Michael Morell, author of “I Ran the CIA. Now I’m Endorsing Hillary Clintonâ€; and recently fired leaker James Comey retain top-level security clearances.
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https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/07/ishmael-jones-a-modest-proposal-2.php
