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CIA Chief Gina Haspel Silent as Trump Attacks Her Predecessor and Patron
[Daily Beast - 18 Aug 2018] The director of the CIA is keeping her mouth shut while her boss, President Donald Trump, punishes her predecessor, John Brennan, for his vociferous criticism. It’s an act that even a man who famously clashed with Brennan and his CIA calls "appalling."Brennan, a career CIA official whom Barack Obama made the agency’s director over substantial criticism from the political left, saw Trump take away his security clearance on Wednesday. Disconnected from any allegation, let alone evidence, that Brennan abused his clearance, Trump’s maneuver struck many intelligence observers and former officials as a naked power play: a message to the intelligence community that the president expects their personal loyalty. But CIA Director Gina Haspel, whose nomination Brennan very publicly supported and whose integrity Brennan vouched for, is remaining silent, even as the White House suggests that the same fate may await other intelligence veterans who consider Trump a danger to the country. Asked if Haspel approved of Trump stripping Brennan of his security clearance and if she had known about it or advised the president on the issue in advance, CIA spokesman Tim Barrett told The Daily Beast only: "CIA does not comment on individual security clearances." He declined to address The Daily Beast’s follow-up questions. Posted by: Besoeker 2018-10-09 |
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