WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances of at least half a dozen well-known former national security officials, his spokeswoman said Monday, in an extraordinary reflection of frustration with his increasingly vocal critics from past administrations.
Among the president's targets, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, are former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former national security adviser Susan Rice, all of who served under President Barack Obama.
She also named Michael Hayden, who was head of the National Security Agency and CIA director under President George W. Bush; James B. Comey, the former FBI director under Obama and Trump and a deputy attorney general in the Bush administration; and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a career federal official whom Trump fired.
"They've politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances, making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia," Sanders told reporters during an afternoon White House briefing.
Sanders did not rule out some kind of similar action against Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden. "I'm not aware of any plans for that at this point," she said.
If Trump decides to revoke the clearances, the former officials, many of whom spent decades in government or military service, or both, would no longer be permitted to review classified material.
Soon after Sanders' remarks, Clapper responded in a CNN interview, calling the potential revocation "a very, very petty thing to do."
"If he chooses to do it for political reasons, well that's _ I think that's a terrible precedent, and I think that's a very sad commentary. And it's an abuse of the system," Clapper said on CNN.
Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe, said Sanders was mistaken about his status _ she said McCabe's clearance was already deactivated when he was fired earlier this year.
"You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects at the press corps," she tweeted.
Hayden said that the threat wouldn't have an impact on him.
"I dont go back for classified briefings," he tweeted. "Won't have any effect on what I say or write."
All of the officials named by Sanders have been critical of Trump, although Brennan has been particularly outspoken.
Last week, Brennan tweeted that Trump's news conference in Helsinki, Finland, with Russian President Vladimir Putin was "nothing short of treasonous" because he refused to confront Putin over Moscow's 2016 election interference and accepted the Russian's denials over the unanimous findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.
"Not only were Trump's comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin," Brennan added.
Brennan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
