Donald Trump’s security clearance stunt quickly blows up in his face

| 6:30 pm EDT July 23, 2018
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In his latest attempt at distracting us from his criminal scandals and carrying out petty personal revenge on those who have called him out for his crimes, Donald Trump is now seeking to revoke the security clearances of several former U.S. intelligence community leaders. His Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced this morning from the White House press briefing podium that Trump plans to revoke the clearances of John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey, Michael Hayden, Andrew McCabe and Susan Rice. However, it quickly blew up in his face.

While all of the above people have held high ranking U.S. intel positions in recent years, none of them still have those jobs. Trump’s revocation of their security clearances would be symbolic at best, somewhere along the lines of taking down a former employee’s retirement plaque. But it turns out that, in at least one instance, what Trump is talking about isn’t even possible – because no such clearance exists.

Benjamin Wittes posted a tweet revealing that he texted his friend James Comey, asking if he even still has a security clearance. Comey’s answer: “Nope.” Comey confirms he was “read out” after Trump fired him from the FBI. This leaves Trump in the position of trying to take away something that doesn’t exist. McCabe’s spokesman then announced that McCabe doesn’t have any remaining clearance to be revoked either.

So not only is Donald Trump trying to distract us with a petty stunt that makes him look like a small minded loser, it also reveals that he’s an idiot who doesn’t do his homework. Trump appears to be frantically pulling things out of his backside, without even bothering to have them properly vetted first, as his scandals close in on him. Moreover, these kinds of stunts aren’t doing much to distract the public from his criminal scandals for long.

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.