President Trump on Friday dismissed criticism from retired four-star admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden,…
President Trump on Friday dismissed criticism from retired four-star admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the 2011 Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and who slammed the president for yanking the security clearance of an ex-CIA chief.
“I don’t know McRaven,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One to go to a fundraiser in the Hamptons before heading to his Jersey golf club for the weekend, a visit he said was “going to be all work.”
And he defended pulling the security clearance of Obama-era CIA Chief John Brennan after the former top spook repeatedly criticized Trump’s policies, words and behavior.
“I know I have gotten tremendous response from having done that because security clearances are very important to me. Very, very important. I have had a tremendous response for having done that,” Trump said in wide-ranging, impromptu remarks to reporters.
He actually did Brennan a favor, he argued, because he now has increased name recognition because of the controversy over the president’s move, which he told The Wall Street Journal was prompted by Brennan’s role in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
“There’s no silence. If anything I’m giving them a bigger voice. Many people don’t even know who he is. I like taking on voices like that. I have never respected him. I have never had a lot of respect,” Trump said about Brennan before saying he would likely pull more clearances from his critics.
In an op-ed Thursday in The Washington Post, McRaven called Brennan as “a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.”
“Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency,” McRaven wrote.
And Trump yet again unloaded on Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and possible collusion with his campaign.
“It’s a disgusting thing, frankly. I say it. I say it again. That whole situation is a rigged witch hunt. It’s a totally rigged deal. They should be looking at the other side,” he said, a reference to Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party.
“Mr. Mueller has a lot of conflicts also directly, you know that. Mr. Mueller is highly conflicted. In fact, [ex-FBI chief James] Comey is like his best friend. I could go into conflict after conflict. Sadly, Mr. Mueller is conflicted,” the commander-in-chief said, without elaborating.
“Let him write his report. We did nothing. There’s no collusion. If he was doing an honest report, he would write it on the other side. Because when you look at problems, look at what they did, including with the Russians,” Trump said.
Asked about the federal bank fraud and money laundering trial of his one-time campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, the president at first said “I don’t talk about that now” before proceeding to criticize the prosecution of his former adviser.
“I think the whole Manafort trial is very sad. When you look at what’s going on there, I think it’s a very sad day for our country. He happens to be a very good person. I think it’s very sad what they’ve done to Paul Manafort,” he said.
The jury is deliberating Manafort’s fate in a federal courthouse in Virgnia.
If convicted, he could be sentenced to life behind bars.
