First Amendment Falls

Less than an hour ago it was announced that Trump has stripped former C.I.A. Director John Brennan of his security clearance.  When President Trump debased himself at the Helsinki summit.  Mr. Brennan was one of the first and most adamant critics of the President.  Going as far as to say that his behavior rose to the level to the level of treason.  The freedom of speech is the first amendment to the Constitution. I was worried when ten days ago a CNN reporter was refused admittance to an event that was open to all other press representatives.  She was told that she was uninvited because of a question she asked.  That was his most recent punitive action taken against the United States press.  I’ll not bother with outlining them, because I’m focusing on today’s events.

Not only did Trump strip Brennan of his clearance, he gave an “enemies list” of mostly Democrats, who only had one thing in common.  They were very critical of the President.  What makes this even more unbelievable, Trump did this without consulting any of his intelligence advisors.  The administration admitted it was to punish Brennan for speaking out.

Trump’s excuse was, “I’d put a Republican on, too, if I thought they were incompetent or crazy.”  Fact is that two of his enemies list are Republicans, but when did facts matter to him.  This is just one more part of a concerted effort by Trump to silence anybody who criticizes him.    Not only that but he recently doubled down on his claim of the press are the enemy of the people.  He included fact checkers by stating that they are “bad people.”  There is a constant comparison of other countries decline into dictatorships and authoritarian governments.   Unless we put a stop to Trump, we are going down that path.  My critical post may add me to Trump’s enemies list, but I’ll exercise my first amendment rights for as long as I can.

All of the people on Trump’s under investigations list are former intelligence officials except one.   Bruce Ohr is currently employed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).  Did he criticize the President?  No, his wife worked for the company that hired Steele to create his now famous dossier.  Revocation of Ohr’s security clearance would drastically affect his ability to do his job.