Obama officials could lose security clearances

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that President Donald Trump wants to revoke security clearances held by former Obama administration officials. The president is “looking into the mechanisms” to strip clearances from former CIA directors Michael Hayden and John Brennan, as well as former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe—both fired after Trump took office. Former National Director of Intelligence James Clapper and President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, are also on the list.

Sanders said those officials have politicized and in some cases profited from their security clearances: “Making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the president are inappropriate, and the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence.” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., raised the issue Monday, tweeting, “Is John Brennan making millions of dollars divulging secrets to the mainstream media with his attacks” on Trump?

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Tuesday downplayed the president’s threat of revoking the clearances. “I think he’s just trolling people, honestly,” Ryan said. “This is something that’s in the purview of the executive branch.”