Dem, Republican join in effort to control how Trump grants, revokes security clearances

WASHINGTON — In the wake of abuse-of-power accusations over President Donald Trump's handling of the nation's secrets, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has joined with a key Republican in seeking to impose rules on how the president grants and revokes security clearances.

The proposed Integrity in Security Clearance Determinations Act would seek to ensure that the security clearance process is fair, objective, transparent, and accountable by requiring decisions on clearances to be based on published criteria, according to a bill description obtained by NBC News.

The bill, expected to be introduced Thursday by Sen. Mark Warner, D.-Va., and Republican committee member Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, would bar the executive branch from revoking security clearances for purposes of political retaliation or based on expressions of political opinions or personal views. It also would prohibit agencies from using security clearances to punish whistleblowers or discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, religion, age, handicap, or national origin.

President Trump in August said he revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, an NBC News contributor who was a career CIA officer before joining the Obama administration. Brennan is a frequent critic of Trump.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/dem-republican-join-effort-control-how-trump-grants-revokes-security-n982941