INTELLIGENCE/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump threatened on Friday [8-17-18] to quickly revoke the security clearance of Bruce Ohr, a little-known Justice Department official, for the first time seeking to apply his power to cut access to sensitive information to a midlevel government worker rather than a prominent former national security official. Departing the White House for a fund-raiser, the president told reporters that Mr. Ohr was ‘a disgrace’ and said incorrectly that Mr. Ohr played a part in starting the investigation into Russian election interference and possible links to Trump associates…Mr. Trump began this week to use his power to void security clearances to punish perceived adversaries in the Russia investigation. His revocation of the clearance of John O. Brennan, a former C.I.A. director who has emerged as an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, drew condemnation from former national security officials. But by targeting Mr. Ohr, the president moved beyond his bitter clash with high-profile antagonists like Mr. Brennan and reached deep into the bureaucracy. Mr. Trump also forced a difficult choice on Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general: accept the actions of the president or defend a public employee’s right to the normal process of appeals.”
–Michael D. Shear, Katie Benner and Nicholas Fandos, “Embracing Conspiracy Theory, Trump Escalates Attack on Bruce Ohr,”The New York Times online, August 17, 2018