Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said Sunday that he thinks the relationship between the national security community and President Trump is on the edge of shattering.
“It’s dangerously close to being permanently broken, it is badly injured right now,” Hayden told CNN.
Hayden said that it’s been increasingly hard for the intelligence community to keep itself apolitical when the administration behaves as it does.
“If we’re back in our old agencies, we’re trying to say to our workforce: ‘We have nothing to do with what John Brennan says on TV and we have nothing to do with what the president has done in response,'” Hayden said, “‘We’ve got our basic lane, we’ve got to be blocking and tackling.'”
“But that has to be harder and harder each day as the administration takes these kinds of actions,” Hayden continued.
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When CNN asked if Hayden would be proud to have his security clearance revoked by the Trump administration, he replied that he would.
“And frankly, if his not revoking my clearance gave the impression that I somehow moved my commentary to a direction more acceptable to the White House, I would find that very disappointing and frankly unacceptable,” Hayden said.
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Hayden: Trump relationship with national security community "dangerously close to being permanently broken" https://t.co/W6iPb5lZ8Q pic.twitter.com/63afwa2NY6
— The Hill (@thehill) August 19, 2018
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