That is not to say that all clearances should be immediately revoked when someone leaves office – but, should they not be reviewed? New administrations are populated with their own people with their own ideas and own outlooks; and the careerists remain in the bureaucracy regardless of who the President is; thus there is no shortage of analysts, researchers, operatives, agents, diplomats, intelligence and security personnel, clerks and so forth who have plenty of clearances. Former officials might deserve respect and admiration, but do they deserve a security clearance? The question is especially relevant if that official is loudly opposed to the present holder of the office of President. It is likely that the next Democrat administration will have scant use for any Trump-era officials, and will be revoking clearances en masse.
We guess that one reason why Mr. Brennan protests his loss of clearance so emphatically is that he makes use of it, either psychologically, financially, for prestige or cachet, or as an entitlement. None of those are good reasons for having a clearance. And, there is little preventing that next Democrat administration from restoring Mr. Brennan’s clearance, should the occasion arise, or even merely as a reward or an honor. One reason why there is “a swamp” is that its denizens collectively are very jealous and protective of their privileges. The “lesser folks” on the outside of course may never understand how great and good those denizens are, but as a group they sure do celebrate each other’s abilities and brains. Of course, Mr. Brennan is the brave hero now, standing up to a President he despises. but it wasn’t very many years ago (in 2014, to be exact) that the Democrats on the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence demanded Mr. Brennan’s resignation as CIA Director. Why? For hacking the Senate Intelligence Committee’s computers and lying about it. Of course, he was not fired, he did not resign, he was not removed; but, despite the hacking and the lying and the intelligence failures and years of blunders and missteps. Mr. Brennan remained in office until the end of the Obama Administration, only to resurface as the standard-bearer in the Resistance Army. And President Trump is being (take your choice) evil, petty, autocratic, undemocratic, treasonous or cowardly when he speaks out against Mr. Brennan for speaking out against him. Well, even Mr. Brennan is having some remorse – for he has told an interviewer that when he called Mr. Trump “treasonous,” he didn’t mean he actually had committed treason.
Here is the most important thing to remember about all of this: Mr. Brennan’s clearance is obviously not something to which he is entitled. The President does have the authority to revoke the clearance of Mr. Brennan and others. And if he or