Former CIA director Leon Panetta on Sunday suggested that President Trump might not have had the authority to revoke ex-CIA director John Brennan \u2019s\u2026<\/b>
\nFormer CIA director Leon Panetta on Sunday suggested that President Trump might not have had the authority to revoke ex-CIA director John Brennan \u2019s security clearance.
Panetta, appearing on CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation,\u201d pointed to Executive Order 12968, an order signed by President Clinton and updated by President George W. Bush.
\u201cI think there are questions raised as to whether or not this president has followed the executive order, and whether or not he\u2019s provided due process to those that are going to have their security clearances revoked,\u201d Panetta said.
Panetta added that Trump is required to abide by the executive order \u201cunless he\u2019s prepared to change it.\u201d
\u201cThis president is not above the law,\u201d Panetta said.
Panetta, who was CIA director under former President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011, became the latest of former intelligence officials to question Trump since the president revoked Brennan\u2019s security clearance last week. The move was widely viewed as an act of retaliation against Brennan, who has often publicly criticized Trump.
Panetta also said Sunday that he\u2019s concerned that Trump will revoke other security clearances in the midst of a \u201cbad news day\u201d in an effort to change news cycles. Trump\u2019s revocation of Brennan\u2019s clearance dominated a news cycle that had previously been focused on Omarosa Manigault Newman and her series of claims about the Trump administration.
\u201cI think that\u2019s a real misuse of not only security clearances, but a misuse of the office of the presidency,\u201d he said.
–This report was updated at 11:49 a.m.<\/p>\n

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