Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Are Calling Out Sarah Sanders for Her Questionable Explanation for Why Donald Trump Wants to Revoke Security Clearance of Former Obama Officials

Now that's rich.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed on Monday that President Donald Trump is considering revoking security clearances for several former high-ranking Obama administration officials.

Speaking to reporters during a press briefing, Sanders said that Trump feels that the individuals - former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, former CIA & National Security Director Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe - should lose their clearances over their continued criticism of the president's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.


"The president is looking into the mechanisms to remove security clearance because they've politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and security clearances," Sanders said.

Comey, Brennan, Clapper, Hayden, Rice, and McCabe, Sanders added, have made "baseless accusations of improper contact with or Russia."

This explanation echoes Senator Rand Paul's tweets from earlier in the day:

Twitter wasted no time slamming Sanders for the ultimate hypocrisy of the Trump administration accusing others of monetizing public service.

Others felt there was something else disturbing about this tactic.

The administration is admittedly contemplating punishing free speech.

Sanders also accused the individuals of "being influenced against the president by Russia," which Sanders described as "extremely inappropriate," and "the fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence."

Sanders' remarks are the latest indication of the growing discord between Trump and American intelligence operatives, whom Trump regularly thrashes for saying things that paint him in a negative light.

This is glaringly apparent in Trump's continued flip-flopping on whether he trusts the conclusions made by the intelligence community that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election in an effort to get him elected.

This move would not constitute the first time an American president has attempted to silence his critics, however.

In 1798, President John Adams signed The Alien and Sedition Act into law, making it a crime to publicly speak negatively about the country's chief executive. The main purpose of the law was to expand the ability of the federal government to deport foreigners and to make it harder for immigrants to earn the right to vote.

Adams' Federalist party saw foreigners as a threat to national security, and as one lawmaker at the time put it, the United States should not "invite hordes of Wild Irishmen, nor the turbulent and disorderly of all the world, to come here with a basic view to distract our tranquillity."

Sound familiar?

The Alien and Sedition Act also made it illegal to "write, print, utter, or publish . . . any false, scandalous and malicious writing" against the federal government. This resulted in more than 20 Republican newspaper editors ending up in prison for their critiques of Adams' administration.

Many historians believe that Adams's motivation for signing the act into law was his rivalry with Vice President Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican who favored states' rights over a powerful centralized government.

Public outrage over the law helped propel Jefferson to the presidency in 1800 in what is considered to be one of the ugliest presidential campaigns in American history.

More from People/donald-trump

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa
Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for SiriusXM; Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Jasmine Crockett Calls Out Trump's Hypocrisy By Pointing Out How Melania Got Her Visa

Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out President Donald Trump's hypocrisy on immigration considering how First Lady Melania Trump's pathway to citizenship was possible because she received an "Einstein visa," which is usually reserved for an individual with "some sort of significant achievement."

Speaking during a House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process,” Crockett noted that “the idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," and harshly criticized the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and visa restrictions.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Jennifer Griffin and Pete Hegseth
The Hill

Fox Host Comes To Reporter's Defense After Pete Hegseth Berates Her At Pentagon Briefing

Fox News' chief political analyst Brit Hume came to the defense of Fox national security reporter Jennifer Griffin after their former colleague, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, criticized Griffin as the reporter "who misrepresents the most intentionally what the president says” in a Pentagon news conference.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, had criticized media outlets—including his former network—for what he described as unpatriotic reporting. Hegseth took particular aim at early intelligence assessments suggesting that President Donald Trump's bombing of Iran may not have significantly crippled Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Keep ReadingShow less

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Emily Compagno
Fox News

Fox Host Slams Dem For Dropping An F-Bomb After Praising Trump For The Same Thing Just Minutes Earlier

Fox News host Emily Compagno was criticized after she praised Donald Trump's use of the "f-bomb" earlier this week before condemning Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett's use of the same word—on the same episode of her show, no less.

Trump made headlines this week after admonishing Israel and Iran for violating a ceasefire agreement he'd announced on Truth Social. Although he claimed the ceasefire had been "agreed upon," Iran fired at least six missile barrages at Israel after it was supposed to take effect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ken Jennings; Emily Croke
@Jeopardy/Instagram

Champ's Wild Final Jeopardy Connection

In a dramatic conclusion on last Monday’s Jeopardy!, a contestant revealed a surprising relationship to the final clue's answer. Hailing from Denver, Emily Croke made it to the final write-in portion of the game show with $12,200 in earnings.

In the category of “Collections,” host Ken Jennings read the clue:

Keep ReadingShow less