Trump should be denied intelligence briefings, Schiff says

Jan 17, 2021

House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff said Sunday that President Donald Trump should be barred from daily intelligence briefings immediately — and remain cut off from briefings once President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

“There’s no circumstance in which this president should get another intelligence briefing, not now, not in the future,” said Schiff (D-Calif.) on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” "I don’t think he can be trusted with it now and in the future, he certainly can’t be trusted."

Schiff’s comments come a day after Susan Gordon, Trump’s former principal deputy director of national intelligence, penned an op-ed in The Washington Post arguing that Trump must not be briefed on intelligence after Jan. 20.

“With this simple act — which is solely the new president’s prerogative — Joe Biden can mitigate one aspect of the potential national security risk posed by Donald Trump, private citizen,” Gordon wrote.

Gordon said that especially since Trump intends to remain in politics, he “might be unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent.”

Former presidents typically receive routine intelligence briefings and access to classified information after they have left office.

Schiff added that he thinks U.S. allies withheld information from the Trump administration because “they didn’t trust the president” to protect intelligence, which, in turn, “makes us less safe.”

However, Ron Klain, Biden’s incoming chief of staff, said that the new administration will first hear from “our intelligence professionals” and their recommendations on intelligence-sharing before making a decision on the issue.

“We’ll certainly look for a recommendation from the intelligence professionals in the Biden administration,” once they are confirmed, Klain said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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