‘Trump’s access to intel briefings will be determined by officials’

Washington, Feb. 7 (IANS): White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said that the decision on whether or not former US President Donald Trump should have access to intelligence breifings will be determined by intel officials, according to media reports.

In a statement to The Washington Post newspaper on Saturday, Psaki said: “The President (Joe Biden) was expressing his concern about former president Trump receiving access to sensitive intelligence, but he also has deep trust in his own intelligence team to make a determination about how to provide intelligence information if at any point the former president Trump requests a briefing.”

Former Presidents are normally allowed to receive intelligence briefings, but Biden does not believe that Trump should have the access “because of his erratic behaviour”, The Hill news website reported.

Speaking to CBS News on Friday, Biden had said that Trump represents an “existential threat”.

“I’d rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?” the President said.

Last month, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff had also said that Trump could not be trusted with intelligence.

“There is no circumstance in which this President should get another intelligence briefing, not now and not in the future,” Schiff said during a CBS News interview.

“Indeed, there were, I think, any number of intelligence partners around the world who probably started withholding information from us because they didn’t trust the President would safeguard that information, and protect their sources and methods. And that makes us less safe.”