WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is considering withdrawing former President Donald Trump’s access to intelligence briefings just weeks after he left the Oval Office.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed on Monday that President Biden’s national security team was reviewing Trump’s access when a reporter asked if they would continue to grant Trump “the privilege” of classified information.
“This is a good question,” said Psaki. “Clearly something that is being revised.”
Former presidents traditionally receive intelligence briefings and access to classified information, but some of Trump’s Democratic critics have argued that after the deadly siege of the Capitol he should not be trusted with state secrets.
During Monday’s briefing, the same reporter Psaki pointed to “concerns among some Democrats” that Trump would “misuse” the information “or use it to enrich himself.”
“There is no circumstance in which this president should receive another intelligence briefing, not now, not in the future,” House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) Told CBS ‘Face the Nation’ last month.
“I don’t think he can be trusted with it now and in the future, he certainly cannot be trusted,” he continued.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to Biden.
In an interview last month, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said the new commander in chief would wait for an assessment by his national security advisers to complete before making a decision.
“We will certainly be looking for a recommendation from the intelligence professionals in Biden’s government,” Klain told CNN’s Jake Tapper about “State of the Union.”
“We will act on that recommendation,” he said.