WSJ
President Biden said Friday that former president Donald Trump should not have access to classified information in the form of the briefings usually given to ex-presidents, citing Trump’s “erratic behavior” and the risk that he might recklessly reveal sensitive information.

Biden stopped short of announcing that he had officially decided to prevent his predecessor from receiving the briefings, which are traditionally given before former presidents travel abroad, particularly in an official capacity. But Biden has the unilateral authority to deny intelligence access to anyone he chooses, and his remarks amounted to a statement that Trump — who for four years controlled the entire U.S. security apparatus — was himself a security risk.

Denying the briefings to a former president would be an unprecedented action, and Biden’s remarks, made during an appearance on “CBS Evening News” with Norah O’Donnell, emphasized the president’s concern, and that of other officials, that Trump poses a risk to national security because of what he might disclose.

Asked by O’Donnell whether Trump should receive the briefings, Biden replied, “I think not.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, during her daily press briefing Monday, when asked whether the Biden administration would provide Trump with intelligence briefings, said that she had raised the question with Biden’s national security team and that the issue was “under review.”

The White House on Friday did not immediately clarify whether Biden’s comments to CBS News represented an official White House policy or was simply an expression of the president’s opinion in response to a question.

A spokesman for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

Explaining his reason for wanting to withhold sensitive information from Trump, Biden said, “because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.”

That was a reference to the events at the heart of the Senate impeachment trial that Trump faces next week. Trump was impeached after encouraging a throng of supporters on Jan. 6 to march to the Capitol in an effort to pressure Congress as it moved to certify Biden’s electoral college victory. A mob broke into the Capitol, forcing Congress to suspend its proceedings and resulting in several deaths.

As president, Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and impress or intimidate foreign governments, in some cases jeopardizing U.S. intelligence capabilities.

The Washington Post reported in May 2017, for example, that Trump had revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador to the United States during a White House meeting, jeopardizing a valuable source of intelligence on the Islamic State.

In Friday’s interview, O’Donnell pressed Biden on his past characterizations of Trump.

“You’ve called him an existential threat. You’ve called him dangerous. You’ve called him reckless,” she said.

Biden replied, “Yeah, I have. And I believe it.”

When asked to describe his “worst fear” were Trump to continue receiving classified information, to which he had unrestricted access as president, Biden said, “I’d rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there is no need for him to have the — the intelligence briefings.”

He added, “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?”

Even before Trump left office, it was clear that his post-presidential life, like his time in office, would deviate starkly from tradition. He declined to attend Biden’s inauguration or welcome him to the White House, as departing presidents have done for their successors for decades. And now he faces an impeachment trial for an alleged offense during his presidency.

Current and former U.S. officials said Friday that they shared Biden’s concern about giving Trump access to national secrets.

“President Biden is certainly correct about the lack of any value in providing Trump intelligence briefings,” said David Priess, who, as a CIA officer, briefed George H.W. Bush for many years after he had left the presidency.

He noted that the briefings are provided because former presidents have a unique role in national life. They are often seen as representing the United States, especially by foreign leaders, for the duration of their lifetime.

“Traditionally, these briefings have kept former presidents informed enough to serve as confidential advisers to the current president if needed, to offer perspective during an international crisis or before high-level negotiations with a foreign leader, for example,” Priess said.

“But there’s no chance of Biden reaching out to Trump for that,” he added. “So why would Biden run the risk of Trump’s disclosure of sensitive information by agreeing to such briefings?”

Last month, before Biden’s inauguration, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee also said Trump should be denied access to official secrets after he left office.

“There is no circumstance in which this president should get another intelligence briefing, not now and not in the future,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Schiff helped lead the first impeachment effort against Trump, starting more than a year ago, after Trump suggested to the president of Ukraine that his country should investigate Biden — at the time a potential rival for the presidency — and his family.

“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,” Schiff said. “And that makes us less safe.”

While in office, Trump also drew criticism from intelligence officials for his relentless attacks on the intelligence community, which he often portrayed as a den of conspirators fabricating information about his campaign’s contacts with Russia. Trump also ordered the declassification of intelligence that U.S. officials warned could expose sensitive sources of intelligence that could not easily be replaced.

All presidents exit the office with valuable national secrets in their heads, including procedures for launching nuclear weapons, knowledge of the country’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, information about assets inside foreign governments and plans for new and advanced weapon systems.

But until Biden took office, no new president had voiced concern that his predecessor might expose what he knew or act recklessly with information he received after leaving the White House.

Some intelligence experts have previously said that Trump could be seen as a counterintelligence risk: He was in debt and angry at the U.S. government, particularly what he described as a “deep state” conspiracy that he said tried to stop him from winning the White House in 2016 and resisted him while he was in office. Trump also falsely claimed that he was the victim of an illegal effort that robbed him of reelection.

Former presidents generally receive briefings before they travel overseas, especially if they are doing so at the behest of the administration of the day, so that they can be apprised of recent developments and know what subjects they might want to explore, or avoid, with particular foreign leaders. They are often seen as valuable assets by the incumbent White House, given their stature and access to the top levels of foreign governments.

The briefings are usually delivered by current intelligence officers, including those who have experience briefing the sitting president. But former presidents do not receive the same classified daily briefing as a sitting commander in chief.

Biden’s comments about security briefings came just days before the Senate was scheduled to open Trump’s second impeachment trial. House impeachment managers, or prosecutors, are preparing their case that the president, among his alleged offenses, “gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government” by inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol.

Trump’s defense team is expected to deny any incitement, saying the president was exercising his right to free speech in questioning the election results, and to argue that the Constitution does not provide for the impeachment trial of a president after he has left office.

Biden, in the interview aired Friday, declined to comment on whether he would vote to convict Trump if he still were a senator.

“Look, I ran like hell to defeat him because I thought he was unfit to be president,” Biden told O’Donnell. “I’ve watched what everybody else watched, what happened when that — that crew invaded the United States Congress. But I’m not in the Senate now. I’ll let the Senate make that decision.”

Pretty ironic given who is holding the gavel in the unconstitutional impeachment trial.

Herr Biden prolly is concerned that Trump can dig up more dirt on the Biden crime family and their profitable foreign adventures with commies and oligarchs.

Trump is probably upset that it didn't occur to him to do that to Barry. Maybe it did but he passed because of optics (sarcasm alert).

claims by Trump's legal team that his conduct around the Jan 6 Capitol riot is shielded by the First Amendment are "legally frivolous" and should do nothing to stop the Senate from convicting him, 144 leading First Amendment lawyers and constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum wrote in a letter circulated on Friday.

Taking aim at one of the key planks of Trump's impeachment defense, the lawyers argued that the constitutional protections do not apply to an impeachment proceeding, were never meant to protect conduct like Trump's anyway, and would likely fail to shield him even in a criminal court.

Among the 144 lawyers, scholars, and litigants who signed the letter, a copy of which was shared with the New York Times, were Steven G. Calabresi, a founder of the conservative Federalist Society, Charles Fried, a solicitor general under Ronald Reagan, and pre-eminent constitutional law scholars like Laurence Tribe, Richard Primus, and Martha Minow.

Martha Minow was allegedly hot once?

#11...CP

Yes she was...very hot...

Frank even the MF precedent cited by Dem talking mouth pieces excludes the fact that after they voted they overturned their own GD decision. FFS

Oh I think you know.

betcha you know more about QAnon?

The irony of the situation is interesting. In my opinion the Republican party absolutely needs Trump convicted so the final step can be taken and Trump can never hold office again. I don't think McConnell can convince 17 senators the throw their careers away.

The Democrats are best served by letting Trump break the Republican party. What they really want is an on record vote of who voted to not convict Trump. Political ammunition for future elections. I suspect if enough Republicans voted to convict Trump there will be Democrats voting not to convict Trump.

What a strange game of brinksmanship being played at our expense. I truly wonder if Trump is a puppet with invisible strings and who the puppet masters are. A butterfly flaps its wings in Switzerland.

Yes.
Allegedly...

Agreed, but it will never happen. Your pitchfork sales should be booming.

Perhaps, but a secret vote in the senate would not be something good to start.

Well, if you accept it then....there it is.

This is news to you? You find this surprising and worthy of outrage?

Me thinks it's common knowledge that there are cameras on satellites in space which are used to map just about any place in the world.

The GeoEye-1 satellite was launched in 2008. Using the camera on this bugger, Google has access to resolutions down to 50 cm/pixel. If, in 2008, commercial sources had access to 50 cm resolution and government sources had (published) resolutions down to 41 cm, what do you think they have now, 12 yrs later? What kind of resolution did your cell phone camera have 12 yrs ago compared to what it is today?

Specifications and operation

GeoEye-1 provides 0.41 m (16 in) panchromatic and 1.65 m (5.4 ft) multispectral imagery at nadir in 15.2 km (9.4 mi) swaths. The spacecraft is in a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 681 km (423 mi) and an inclination of 98 degrees, with a 10:30 a.m. equator crossing time.[3][12][13] GeoEye-1 can image up to 60 degrees off nadir. It is operated out of Dulles, Virginia.[14]

At the time of its launch, GeoEye-1 was the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite.[15] GeoEye-1 was manufactured in Gilbert, Arizona, by General Dynamics and the first image was returned on 7 October of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.[16]

Google, which had its logo on the side of the rocket, has exclusive online mapping use of its data. While GeoEye-1 is capable of imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters per pixel (16 in/px), that resolution was only available to the U.S. government. Google has access to details of 50 cm per pixel (20 in/px). Prior maximum commercial imagery was 60 cm (24 in).[17]

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Google paid a combined US$502 million for the satellite and upgrades to GeoEye's four ground stations.[18]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeoEye-1

Good job... it's rare... enjoy this moment.

Good idea!


They should give him a brain prosthetic too, lord knows he needs one....

Frank.......you should have read the whole thing, it’s what the left says is their precedence. Or not apparently you’ve made up your mind.

stePHan for someone who was in “intelligence” you should know that the POTUS is the ultimate deciderer of what is classified.

Trump’s access to sensitive briefings will be determined by intelligence officials, White House clarifies

WSJ
The White House on Saturday said President Biden’s statement that his predecessor should not receive intelligence briefings did not represent a final decision on the matter, which will instead be resolved by intelligence officials.

Biden made his views known during an appearance on “CBS Evening News” with Norah O’Donnell. Asked whether former president Donald Trump should receive the briefings, as is customary for ex-presidents, Biden said, “I think not.”

“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing?” Biden said in a portion of the interview aired Friday. “What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”

Biden has the unilateral authority to deny intelligence access to anyone he chooses, and his remarks seemed to suggest he considered Trump enough of a risk to do so. But his aides said he would leave that decision to his intelligence team.
In an interview with CBS Evening News, President Biden said that he thinks former president Donald Trump should not continue to receive intelligence briefings.

“The president 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,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement issued Saturday.

Psaki, when earlier asked whether the Biden administration would cut off Trump’s access to the sensitive material, said the matter was “under review.” A spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred questions to the White House. A spokesman for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

Former presidents do not receive the same classified daily briefing as does a sitting commander in chief. Still, their briefings are typically delivered by current intelligence officers — partly out of respect and convention and partly to prepare them if their advice is solicited or if they’re representing the administration abroad.

Explaining his reasoning for wanting to withhold the information from his predecessor, which would be without precedent, Biden said, “because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.”

The response made clear that Biden’s concerns go beyond the events of Jan. 6, which are core to the Senate impeachment trial set to begin in a few days. As president, Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and impress or intimidate foreign governments, in some cases jeopardizing U.S. intelligence capabilities.

Now that he has sequestered himself at Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Florida, the fear among some intelligence experts is that he could weaponize the material for his political gain as he weighs another bid for the White House and promises to remain active in right-wing politics. In a Washington Post column published last month, Susan M. Gordon, who served as principal deputy director of national intelligence until 2019, urged Biden to cut off Trump’s access to the sensitive briefings.

She cited his vow to remain politically active, as well as his “significant business entanglements that involve foreign entities.” Those factors, she argued, made him “unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent.”

Potus can also decide who gets classified. It will be a sad precedent for the post-presidency institution

Hey, BRO this is CB. Every thread morphs and diverting is part of the fun!

LOL. You narc-ed on yourself.
I never notice it till you said something (and couldn't care less).

They might get the Nobel

Transparency.

Outrage? Who said I'm outraged? I just wouldn't trust Trump to return a full box of crayons if I loaned them to him.

I worked in intelligence in the military. I dealt with classified documents all the time. Sometimes, I would go home and turn on the news and there would be a reporter reading word for word a report I just locked in a safe. Did that mean I was suddenly free to hand out that document because it was now public knowledge? Pretty sure someone would have had a problem with that.

PC's and the internet have been around for awhile now. How many Presidents have pulled classified materials out of a brief and just uploaded it to the net? I'm sure they had to tell Clinton to stop downloading stuff but, I doubt they ever thought they'd have to say DO NOT UPLOAD CLASSIFIED MATERIALS TO YOUR TWITTER ACCOUNT. But, hey, if Wikipedia say's it's cool... it's cool.

BTW... When you were quoting that Wiki... did it give you the satellites position in space and let you know which one of the 1300+ satellites the U.S. has flying has the capability to take those pictures? Because Trumps tweet did.