A former Obama administration official and Trump critic was barred from attending the graduation ceremony of a K9 officer he had sponsored - and named after his dead wife.
James Clapper, who served as Director of National Intelligence from 2010 until 2017, was informed by the nonprofit dog-training group that his name had been taken off the list for the event.
The 84-year-old had sponsored the yellow Labrador, named Susan, as she completed her CIA training for “detection canines.” Once deployed, the dogs help to sniff out concealed explosives.
Clapper’s late wife, Susan, a former National Security Agency employee, had been a great animal lover and had volunteered at a local animal shelter.
According to The Atlantic, Clapper was informed that he was not permitted to attend Susan’s graduation a day before the event in late May. The order to bar him had come from an executive order signed by the president.
Trump’s disdain for Clapper stems from his first administration, when the former intelligence chief had testified in a hearing into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election – which the president has referred to multiple times as a “hoax.” At the time, Trump wrote that Clapper and another Obama-era official had begun to “choke like dogs” during the Senate hearing, according to the outlet.
Clapper has also, on multiple occasions, questioned the president’s fitness for office during TV news hits.
After returning to office Trump immediately got rid of the security clearance of dozens of former intelligence officials, including Clapper. This order, according to The Atlantic, was misinterpreted by CIA officials to mean the octogenarian was not allowed on any agency property.
The graduation took place at a CIA training facility in Herndon, Virginia.
The outlet reported that, since the event was not a classified affair, there was no reason to keep Clapper from celebrating the achievements of his dog.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment about the decision to bar Clapper from the event.
