Page 39 - Jim Clapper News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Predict. and i felt a duty, an oshlgs to speak up because of that long history of defending these things i think are extremely important for this country. and sure, at my advanced age i'd just as soon dance offstage but i feel a duty and an obligation to speak up. i think john and mike and others feel the same way. >> you can do your dancing on your own time you've got a lot of gas left in the tank and we need you on this show on a regular basis. >> the irony, chris, just one brief comment, is if anything, his doing this apparently reflects concern for what we've been saying, and if anything g...

Brennan has been so palpable -- >> does he have a right to sneak or does he not? >> of course he has the right to speak but he doesn't have the right to continue to receive the privilege that's bestowed by the president of the united states. >> why should the president punish somebody for speaking out if they haven't done anything to compromise their clearance? >> it is not a question of punish if you're talking about a right. but if you're talking about a privilege, essentially a favor, a courtesy -- >> no. >> -- then the question one might ask is why the hell didn't he take it from him earli...

Press da precedent. joining us now, lisa monaco, a senior national security analyst. thanks so much for being with us. so many developments overnight, including the president telling us exactly why he did revoke the security clearance of former cia director john brennan and put those nine other people on the list on double secret probation to have their security clearances revoked if they speak out again and the president says it's because they were behind the russia investigation. he says i call it the rigged witch-hunt, these people led it so i think it's something that had to be gone. ret...

Through years, many of them decades of service to the country, starting when they were very young, some of them. look, i think it's largely symbolic. chris, why? because like clapper told us, like brennan said, they really have not seen classified information since trump became president. i highly doubt that anybody at d.o.j. is calling sally yates to ask for her opinion or anybody at fbi is calling james comey because they know that anybody who would call any of those folks on that list would probably put their jobs at risk. i think those ten individuals, those ten americans should wear being...

That if they give uncomfortable assessments and pass uncomfortable messages up the chain that they should beware that there's going to be retaliation and that's a dangerous thing for our democracy and national security. >> you say it's more about the message than perhaps the direct impact of someone like brennan not having a security clearance. michael hayden, james clapper have all said they don't think the country will suffer terribly much from them not having top secret clearance. >> i think that's right. look, that is -- as jim clapper said, the republic won't rise or fall on whether any o...