Trump calls Justice official a 'disgrace,' vows to revoke clearance

Source: The Hill | August 17, 2018 | Jordan Fabian and Morgan Chalfant

President Trump on Friday said he is prepared to revoke the security clearance of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, who has come under fire from the president for his role in the Russia probe.

Asked if he will take away Ohr’s clearance, Trump said he expects to do so “very quickly” while calling Ohr a “disgrace.” 

“I think Bruce Ohr is a disgrace. I suspect I’ll be taking it away very quickly, Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House for New York. “For him to be in the Justice Department and doing what he did, that is a disgrace.”

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Ohr has drawn scrutiny from House Republicans as a result of his links to Fusion GPS, the research firm behind a controversial dossier alleging ties between Trump and Moscow.

The firm hired former British spy Christopher Steele to assemble the dossier during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Ohr’s wife, Nellie, worked for Fusion GPS during the campaign, something Trump and his GOP allies have highlighted to argue that the special counsel probe into Russia’s election interference is tainted by bias. 

Ohr worked in the deputy attorney general’s office until late last year, when he was demoted after it was discovered he had contacts with Steele. 

The White House listed a number of individuals whose clearances the president was considering revoking on Wednesday, the day it announced Brennan’s clearance was pulled. But all of them are former officials, except for Ohr — meaning the move would have a direct effect on his ability to perform his role.

“For Ohr, if he doesn’t have classified access, he can’t perform his job,” Mark Zaid, an attorney specializing in national security cases, told The Hill on Thursday. “He would typically then be suspended and then possibly terminated.”

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