The Reexamination of Security Clearances Was Long Overdue

1. Mudd seems to have been giving credence to the earlier warnings of Chuck Schumer (“Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you”) and the later tweet of Samantha Power (“Not a good idea to piss off John Brennan”).
2. Almost all retired professionals with clearances have not been previously fired for cause from government, or have not lied to Congress, or have not accused the sitting president of being a traitor to the country, or have not likened him to a Nazi, or have not suggested that the president’s days were numbered and that he might well be assassinated.
3. Much has been written about former CIA and FBI official Philip Mudd’s recent unhinged outburst on CNN against Paris Dennard for the latter’s credible suggestion that many ex-officials have monetized the fact that they have retained their security clearances.
4. Oddly, Mudd himself seemed to have already proven that point, a year earlier, when he sounded “in the know” in expressing his confidence that President Trump was in some sort of physical danger from the intelligence community.
5. For months, these columns have contended that, on the question whether President Trump should agree to a request by Special Counsel Robert Mueller III for an interview, the burden of persuasion has been imposed on the wrong party.
6. The entire issue of security clearances extended to former government officials, especially those who are paid partisan commentators and allude publicly to their connections to establish their fides, has long needed to be addressed.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/security-clearance-reexamination-long-overdue/