Russia collusion officials lose security clearance

 NY Post:

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced security clearances had been pulled from 37 current and former officials who “abused public trust by politicizing and manipulating” information — including several who were involved in a controversial, President Barack Obama-ordered assessment of Russian influence in the 2016 election.

An ODNI memo announced that the more than three dozen intel professionals — including a former top aide to Obama DNI James Clapper — had either politicized or weaponized intelligence, failed to safeguard classified info or not followed tradecraft standards.

“The President has directed that, effective immediately, the security clearances of the following 37 individuals are revoked,” the Aug. 18 memo stated, according to a copy obtained by The Post.

“Their access to classified systems, facilities, materials, and information is to be terminated forthwith. Any contracts or employment with the U.S. Government by these 37 individuals is hereby terminated. Any credentials held by these individuals must be surrendered to the appropriate security officers.”

The 37 include ex-Principal Deputy DNI Stephanie O’Sullivan and Vinh Nguyen, both of whom worked under Clapper while his office was producing the now-discredited 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia’s preference for then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 contest with Hillary Clinton.
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Gabbard last month began declassifying records about the crafting of the 2017 ICA under Obama, revealing what she has called a “treasonous conspiracy” by senior administration officials “to subvert President Trump’s 2016 victory.”

Those records show that Clapper, then-CIA Director John Brennan and then-FBI Director James Comey spearheaded the ICA report to emphasize Moscow’s role in the electoral contest and purported support of then-candidate Trump.
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Whether it was poor judgment or a deliberate attempt to make a bogus claim about Russian collusion, those responsible for it have lost credibility.  When you screw up that badly, there should be consequences.  The Russiagate scam was one of the biggest political frauds in US history and was used in an attempt to overthrow the Trump presidency.