Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) wrote a letter to President Obama on Wednesday, asking him to keep Donald Trump from receiving classified intelligence briefings, citing the Republican nominee’s Wednesday comments asking Russia to release Hillary Clinton’s emails.
“It is my belief that these statements, when considered in the broader context of the Republican nominee’s prior conduct, warrant a re-examination of his access to this sensitive intelligence,” Cicilline wrote in the letter. “These remarks reflect more than just a lack of good judgment—it is an explicit call for intervention from an adversarial foreign power to undermine the American democratic process, and represents an action just short of outright treason.”
“The Republican nominee’s call for hostile foreign action represents a step beyond mere partisan politics and represents a threat to the Republic itself. It suggests that he is unfit to receive sensitive intelligence, and may willingly compromise our national security if he is permitted to do so,” the congressman concluded in his letter. “With this in mind, I respectfully ask that you withhold the intelligence briefing to Mr. Trump in the interests of national security.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) also questioned whether Trump should receive classified briefings on Wednesday.
“How would the CIA and the other intelligence agencies brief this guy? How could they do that? I would suggest to the intelligence agencies, if you’re forced to brief this guy, don’t tell him anything, just fake it, because this man is dangerous,” Reid told the Huffington Post. “Fake it, pretend you’re doing a briefing, but you can’t give the guy any information.”
