Page 18 - Jim Clapper News Today

View classified intelligence as part of a classified counter intelligence investigation that he -- >> how many times have you said, i could never imagine that anything -- i couldnt fathom this would happen, and then it happens. >> and as david said, thats been almost the daily story of this presidency, i think we spend so much time focused on donald trump breaking norms, that part of this -- part of what were losing in this is why other people are breaking those norms, why john brennan, why jim ...

Was ruling it out? >> he did not definitively rule it out. he did not comment whether or not he would do the interview. the context of our question was, in fact, rudy giulianis comments and we asked him about that and whether that was a concern he shared, giuliani having used the term perjury trap. yes, theres that possibility that if i were to sit down with him that because comey is close to mueller he would believe comey and that would make me a liar, he actually used that word. so that was --...

Even jim clapper was on the shows criticizing john brennan for going way overboard his criticism of donald trump. saying he made himself the issue. your viewers shouldnt think of this as brennan versus trump. this is about getting to the bottom of this after two years. was there an anti-trump collusion so to sneact obama administration and was there collusion by the trump administration with any part of the russia people. and we should know both. eric: to those who would say they were legitimate...

These clearances, at least in the law from what i understand and from my understanding when i was in the congress, is so these people can be a help to the government because they were there before, and so they might be a good reference in the past. well, if the administration doesnt feel theyre a help to the government anymore -- >> clapper says that hes been contacted by senior members of the intelligence organization for the president right now. he didnt want to name them because hes worried a...

He didnt want to name them. now youve taken those resource away from them. you good with that? >> yeah, i am good with that. theres lots of people -- >> lots of people? >> i think theres specific things that someone in the administration wants to talk to jim clapper about -- >> that tells us so much about the integrity of the security plan. >> but we are -- >> hold on, hold on. the president says i care about security clearances very much. you both heard him say that? he didnt care so much about...

What do you think about that? >> thats not the point. thats not the point. the point is intimidation. the point is intimidation of any other official in the government of discounting what the presidents saying or perhaps even giving contrary advice to the president. if you take a revered figure like john brennan or susan rice, shes supposedly on this list, or jim clapper, also supposedly on this list of officials whose security clearance might be taken away, i think the real objective might be t...

Media coverage of trump, it doesnt seem that far off. >> if you look at john brennans tweets, theyre emotional. theyre energized. this is someone who sees the sort of denigration of americas security and national security apparatus. >> people who worked for brennan were very clear that he was not a partisan. you can say it on the outside, because he feels a duty now to say something to save our country. >> ive personally known and worked with john brennan. the same with jim clapper. those people...

With nato and admiral, always glad to talk with you. i know youve been a very outspoken former member of the services. first question, do you still have a security clearance? >> i do, alex, and i think this gets right to the question of how you would diminish our national security if you start pulling these clearances. the reason former officials have these clearances is so that they can turn around and give advice to their successors. let me give you a practical example. when i was supreme alli...

Standing in society. its totally testified that this guy should... clearance, but i think anyone arguing otherwise has not been listening to brennans comments. william webster, george tannen, porter goff, mike hayden. leon panetta, david pretorius, jim clapper. what do you make of this? i wanted to ask you, when trump said on the lawn, nobody has ever heard of him, im giving him more publicity and making him bigger than ever, what did you think? >> that, we have a lot of respect for everything t...

Whether it has any practical effect or not, hell do it. thats what he does. >> you know, in preparation for coming on your tough show i scoured the constitution, in particular the bill of rights, and i looked and i looked and i looked again for the right to get security clearance for a former government official. and guess what? it aint there. it is not -- thats because its not a right. it is a privilege. and it is a privilege bestowed by the president of the united states as a courtesy. it does...