Biden will wait for recommendation from intelligence advisers on whether to share classified information with Trump after he leaves office, top aide says
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will wait for a recommendation from his intelligence advisers on whether to share classified information with President Donald Trump after the Republican leaves office, Biden's top aide said on Sunday.
Ron Klain, the incoming White House chief of staff, made the comment after former principal deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon, wrote an op-ed arguing against sharing such information with Trump once he has left the presidency.
'With this simple act — which is solely the new president's prerogative — Joe Biden can mitigate one aspect of the potential national security risk posed by Donald Trump, private citizen,' Gordon said in a Washington Post piece headlined 'A former president Trump won't 'need to know.' Cut off his intelligence.'
President-elect Biden is to consult with intelligence advisers on whether to provide President Trump with daily intelligence briefings
Ron Klain, the incoming White House chief of staff, pictured made the comment after former principal deputy director of national intelligence, Sue Gordon, wrote an op-ed arguing against sharing such information with Trump once he has left the presidency
'Either way, before Trump departs, the intelligence officials should have the conversation — as they do with all outgoing presidents — about the risks every president faces simply because of what he has already seen or told. He leaves office with knowledge of some of our most precious intelligence assets in his head.
'They need to stay there. And all exiting presidents need to be reminded of that,' Gordon wrote.
Asked about Gordon's recommendation, Klain told CNN's 'State of the Union' program that Biden would want to hear from his own intelligence professionals before making any decision.
'We'll certainly look for a recommendation from the intelligence professionals in the Biden administration ... and we will act on that recommendation,' he said.
A former principal deputy director of national intelligence suggested Trump could be 'vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent'. Trump is pictured with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in 2018
Gordon, who resigned in 2019, said any former president was a foreign intelligence target but Trump 'might be unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent,' citing, among other things, his business interests abroad.
'It is not clear that he understands the tradecraft to which he has been exposed, the reasons the knowledge he has acquired must be protected from disclosure, or the intentions and capabilities of adversaries,' she wrote.
'Trump has significant business entanglements that involve foreign entities. Many of these current business relationships are in parts of the world that are vulnerable to intelligence services from other nation-states. And it is not clear that he understands the tradecraft to which he has been exposed, the reasons the knowledge he has acquired must be protected from disclosure, or the intentions and capabilities of adversaries and competitors who will use any means to advance their interests at the expense of ours,' she added.
Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff was more blunt, telling CBS Face The Nation program, 'I don't think he can be trusted with it.'
'Donald Trump should never receive another intelligence briefing — not now, and not in the future. He cannot be trusted and has done enough damage to our country already. Trump remains a security threat, and will continue to be a security threat long after he leaves office,' he said.
President Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are pictured together in 2018
