Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
Members should sign in for the full experience.

Brennan Says He’ll Take Trump to Court

August 19, 2018 at 11:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former CIA director John Brennan said “that he is willing to take President Trump to court to prevent other current and former officials from having their security clearances revoked, escalating a battle over whether the president is misusing the power of his office to retaliate against opponents,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Brennan: “I am going to do whatever I can personally to try to prevent these abuses in the future, and if it means going to court, I will do that.”0

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Brennan

Brennan Says Trump Is ‘Drunk on Power’

August 17, 2018 at 10:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former CIA Director John Brennan told MSNBC that President Trump was “drunk on power” after he revoked Brennan’s security clearance.

Said Brennan: “I think right now, this country is in a crisis in terms of what Mr. Trump has done and is liable to do.”

He added: “And so, are the Republicans on the Hill — who have given him a pass — going to wait for a disaster to happen before they actually find their backbones and spines, to speak up against somebody who clearly, clearly is not carrying out his responsibilities with any sense of purpose and common sense from the standpoint of national security.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: John Brennan

Trump Isn’t Trying to Silence John Brennan

August 16, 2018 at 6:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Eli Lake: “President Trump’s decision to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan is, according to conventional wisdom, an effort to silence his critics.”

“As is so often the case, however, the conventional wisdom is wrong. Far from trying to silence Brennan, Trump is elevating him. He wants to make Brennan the face of the so-called resistance. This is the Trump playbook. Why do you think he keeps tweeting about Maxine Waters? He is a man who approaches politics like professional wrestling, happy to play the villain if it energizes his base. And for Trump, Brennan is a perfect adversary.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: John Brennan


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

    Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, a trending news page, a private podcast, no advertising and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Trump Has Another ‘Lester Holt Moment’

August 16, 2018 at 8:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Washington Post notes that President Trump “confessed that his true motivation” for revoking former CIA director John Brennan’s security clearance was the Russia investigation.

Said Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: “I call it the rigged witch hunt; it is a sham. And these people led it! So I think it’s something that had to be done.”

“You could be forgiven for having flashbacks to Trump’s interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt in the aftermath of his firing last year of James B. Comey as FBI director. Then, as now, the White House offered a series of motivations for the crackdown on a person who was a liability in the Russia probe. Then, as now, it seemed clear what the actual motivation was. And then, as now, Trump appeared to go out and just admit the actual motivation.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: John Brennan

GOP Senator Calls Brennan a ‘Butthead’

August 16, 2018 at 7:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) defended President Trump’s decision to revoke John Brennan’s security clearance telling CNN the former CIA director is a “butthead” who doesn’t need the clearance.

Said Kennedy: “I think most Americans look at our national intelligence experts as being above politics. Mr. Brennan has demonstrated that that’s not the case. He’s been totally political. I think I called him a ‘butthead’ and I meant it. I think he’s given the national intelligence community a bad name.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Brennan, John Kennedy

Quote of the Day

June 1, 2018 at 9:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I speak out for the simple reason that Mr. Trump is failing to live up to the standards that we should all expect of a president. As someone who had the rare privilege of directly serving four presidents, I will continue to speak out loudly and critically until integrity, decency, wisdom — and maybe even some humility — return to the White House.”

— Former CIA Director John Brennan, writing in the Washington Post.

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: John Brennan

Ex-CIA Director Says Nunes Has Abused His Authority

February 4, 2018 at 12:42 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former CIA Director John Brennan accused Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of selectively releasing information to accuse law enforcement officials of improperly obtaining a warrant to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign adviser, the Washington Post reports.

Said Brennan: “It’s just appalling and clearly underscores how partisan Mr. Nunes has been. He has abused the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee.”

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Devin Nunes, John Brennan

Quote of the Day

August 17, 2017 at 7:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“If allowed to continue along this senseless path, Mr. Trump will do lasting harm to American society and to our standing in the world. By his words and his actions, Mr. Trump is putting our national security and our collective futures at grave risk.”

— Former CIA Director John Brennan, in a letter to CNN.

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: John Brennan

Ex-CIA Chief Was Concerned About Trump Ties to Russia

May 23, 2017 at 10:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former CIA director John Brennan said for first time that he became concerned last year that the Russian government was trying to influence members of the Trump campaign to act — wittingly or unwittingly — on Moscow’s behalf, the New York Times reports.

Said Brennan: “I encountered and am aware of information and intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and U.S. persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. It raised questions in my mind about whether Russia was able to gain the cooperation of those individuals.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign Tagged With: John Brennan, Russia

CIA Director Rips Into Trump Over Russia

January 15, 2017 at 1:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Outgoing CIA Director John Brennan ripped into Donald Trump for “talking and tweeting” about possibly easing sanctions against Russia, saying the president-elect lacks a full understanding of the threat Moscow poses to the United States, the Associated Press reports.

Said Brennan: “I think he has to be mindful that he does not have a full appreciation and understanding of what the implications are of going down that road.”

Filed Under: National Security, Trump Transition Tagged With: John Brennan, Russia

CIA Director Once Voted for the Communist Party

September 21, 2016 at 3:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“At his first polygraph test to enter the CIA, the future director had a secret,” CNN reports.

“John Brennan recalled being asked a standard question for a top security clearance at his early CIA lie detector test: Have you ever worked with or for a group that was dedicated to overthrowing the US?”

Said Brennan: “I froze. This was back in 1980, and I thought back to a previous election where I voted, and I voted for the Communist Party candidate.”

Filed Under: Political History Tagged With: John Brennan

CIA Would Refuse Orders to Waterboard Prisoners

April 10, 2016 at 8:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

CIA Director John Brennan told NBC News that his agency will not engage in harsh “enhanced interrogation” practices, including waterboarding, even if ordered to by a future president.

Said Brennan said: “I will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques I’ve heard bandied about because this institution needs to endure.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Brennan

CIA Chief Blasts Concern Over Spy Practices

November 16, 2015 at 7:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

CIA Director John Brennan denounced “hand-wringing” over intrusive spying and said that leaks of classified information had made it harder to identify terrorists, the New York Times reports.

 

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Brennan

Why Obama Isn’t Abandoning CIA Chief

December 11, 2014 at 6:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

CIA Director John Brennan “has been as close as anyone to President Obama on his most sensitive national security decisions, from drone strikes to the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden,” Bloomberg reports.

“That helps explain why Obama isn’t abandoning his Central Intelligence Agency director despite some calls for his resignation following release of a Senate report detailing the CIA’s brutal interrogations of terrorism suspects during President George W. Bush’s administration. Brennan was a top official at the agency under Bush and then served as head of the National Counterterrorism Center before going to work for Obama.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Brennan, torture

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • A Deep Dive Into Two Swing Seats
  • Not Ordinary Times
  • Incompetence Is Part of the Crisis
  • Trump Has a Jeffrey Epstein Problem
  • Trumpcare Claims Its First Victim

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC