CIA/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Sixty former CIA officials warned President Donald Trump in a statement on Friday [8-17-18] that ‘the country will be weakened if there is a political litmus test applied before seasoned experts are allowed to share their views.’ The letter, which comes after Trump’s decision to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance, was signed by former CIA officials who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations in positions such as analysts, senior analysts and officers. It adds to a growing outcry against the President’s recent action and comes after more than a dozen former senior intelligence officials denounced the move as ‘ill-considered’ and ‘unprecedented’ in a separate statement…The President announced his decision to revoke Brennan’s clearance on Wednesday and accused the former CIA chief, who has been a prominent critic of Trump, of ‘lying’ and giving ‘increasingly frenzied commentary,’ which the President described as ‘wholly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets.’ Later, however, Trump connected his move to strip Brennan’s security clearance to the Russia investigation during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, saying the probe was a ‘witch hunt’ and ‘these people led it.'”
–Clare Foran, “60 ex-CIA officials tell Trump ‘the country will be weakened’ if a political litmus test is applied to experts,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, August 17, 2018 7:36 pm