Rep. Adam Schiff addresses news that President Trump is examining whether to revoke security clearance for Intel leaders, calling it a "cowardly action of someone who is afraid of criticism" https://t.co/qNKxgLrtII pic.twitter.com/GAp8Nk53R0

During a statement on Monday, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that the White House’s statement that President Trump is looking to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance as well as examining the clearances of several other former officials is “exactly what you see in authoritarian regimes.”

Schiff said, “Today’s action, suggesting that we will punish critics of the president by stripping them of their security clearance, that is not what you see in a democracy. That is exactly what you see in authoritarian regimes.”

He added that the move is a “despicable action…to try to silence critics,” and the “cowardly action of someone who is afraid of criticism.”

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