In the likely event that he secured the GOP nomination, Donald Trump will start receiving security briefings from intelligence officials in President Joe Biden's administration.
The sharing of intel briefings with presidential nominees is a standard practice that goes back decades. But, as Politico points out, this marks the first time intelligence has been shared with a candidate accused of improperly handling classified information.
"The Biden administration intends to share intelligence with the former president no matter the outcome of his trial in Florida, according to a senior intelligence official and a second person with knowledge of internal conversations. They, like some others interviewed, were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations," Politico's report stated.
People familiar with the matter tell Politico that the decision to continue the standard practice with Trump once he's nominated was complicated by Trump's pending court case and the fact that he's alleged to be reckless when it comes to handling classified information.
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“I’d be afraid about giving him stuff,” the former official said. “I mean, who knows what kind of riff he would do.”
Just after Biden's election, he blocked Trump from receiving separate intel briefings that are voluntarily given to candidates, saying that Trump didn't need them and could "slip and say something.”
Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton told Politico that he thinks Trump's pending court case justifies the case for keeping Trump from candidate intel briefings.
“We haven’t faced this situation before. But I think the logic could well dictate to Biden he’s not going to give Trump an intelligence briefing,” Bolton said.
Former longtime CIA case officer Douglas London agreed, saying, "It’s too politically dangerous for the White House as well as the intelligence community."
Read the full report over at Politico.
