Brennan To Trump: Don’t Be Spontaneous When Working With Russia

Since Trump emerged victorious in the November election, intelligence officials have acted increasingly unprofessionally and made what appear to be thinly-veiled threats to the president-elect. Most recently, CIA director John Brennan urged Trump to be wary of Russia even though the Russians have signaled their willingness to work with him, suggesting that his remarks are more about pressuring Trump into towing the party line and bending to the will of the agency:

“Trump does not yet have a full understanding of Russia’s actions, Brennan said, noting its seizure of Crimea from Ukraine, its support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war and Moscow’s aggressive activities in the cyber realm.

“Mr. Trump has to understand that absolving Russia of various actions it has taken in the past number of years is a road that he, I think, needs to be very, very careful about moving down,” Brennan said.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday, Trump suggested he might do away with sanctions imposed by the Obama administration on Russia in late December in response to the cyber attacks if Moscow proves helpful in battling terrorists and reaching other U.S. goals.

PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS

Brennan also said Trump needs to be mindful about his off-the-cuff remarks once he assumes the presidency, alluding to Trump’s penchant for making broad pronouncements on Twitter.

“Spontaneity is not something that protects national security interests,” Brennan said. “So therefore when he speaks or when he reacts, just make sure he understands that the implications and impact on the United States could be profound.”

“It’s more than just about Mr. Trump. It’s about the United States of America,” Brennan said.”

This passive-aggressive rhetoric has been adopted by individuals outside the IC, with incoming-Senate Minority Leader wagging his finger at Trump for disputing unverified intelligence reports about him:

“Let me tell you: You take on the intelligence community — they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday evening on MSNBC after host Rachel Maddow informed him that intelligence sources told NBC news that the briefing had not been delayed.”

.@FoxNews "Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat. Does not fully understand." Oh really, couldn't do…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017

much worse – just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017

See CIA director Brennan scold Trump below:

Source: Yahoo, Washington Examiner