Symbol copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Trump revoked ex-CIA leader John Brennan’s safety clearance on Wednesday
US President Donald Trump says his frustrations with the investigation into alleged Russian election meddling forced him to revoke the safety clearance of ex-CIA chief John Brennan.
“It Is a sham,” he informed the Wall Side Road Journal. Revoking Mr Brennan’s clearance “needed to be done”.
The White Area had in advance said Mr Brennan’s get entry to used to be revoked on account of “erratic behavior”.
The vocal critic of the president can not get entry to sensitive data.
In response, Mr Brennan mentioned the move used to be a part of President Trump’s broader effort to “suppress freedom of speech and punish critics”.
Symbol Copyright @JohnBrennan @JohnBrennan 
Image copyright Getty Photographs Image caption Mr Trump is reviewing get entry to for a couple of other former top-score US officials
Some Republicans praised the move, including Senator Rand Paul who said he “instructed the president to do this.”
“Mr Brennan’s behaviour in government and out of it display why he will not be allowed close to categorized information,” he said in a statement.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy mentioned Mr Brennan had “been totally political” and had “given the nationwide intelligence group a foul name.”
“i do not see why he would need a safety clearance, i actually don’t,” he informed CNN.
Changing the topic
Analysis via BBC’s North America Editor Jon Sopel
John Brennan has been an outspoken critic of the president.
He called Donald Trump treasonous over his assembly with the Russian chief in Helsinki, he has also referred to as him imbecilic and a danger to the US.
Now Donald Trump has had his revenge, revoking the former CIA chief’s security clearance – and dangerous a number of different nationwide intelligence officials, all of whom have one thing in common: they have got also been important of the president.
However in justifying this move there is been no recommendation that Mr Brennan both leaked categorised material or sought to generate profits from it.
The timing could also be noteworthy. The White Area has been buffeted for days via claims from a disaffected former adviser to the president.
Last arguments within the trial of Donald Trump’s former marketing campaign supervisor, Paul Manafort, are also being heard.
The White Space briefing the place this used to be introduced hadn’t been scheduled. It looks like a concerted effort to change the topic.
