From yesterday’s George Mason University forum on election security at the National Press Club:

BRENNAN: “But there is something unique you have to agree, that now the impeachment inquiry is underway, sparked by complaint from someone within the intelligence community. It feeds the President’s concern and often used term about a ‘deep state’ being there to take him out.”

MCLAUGHLIN: “Thank God for the deep state.

(Laughter) (Applause)

I mean, I think everyone here has seen this progression of diplomats and intelligence officers and White House people trooping up to Capitol Hill right now and saying these are people who are doing their duty or responding to a higher call. It doesn’t — I guess it doesn’t — well, think about it for a minute, with all of the people who knew what was going on here, it took an intelligence operative — officer to step forward and say something about it. Which was the trigger that then unleashed everything else. Why does that happen? I’ll tell American people why that happens, this is the institution in the U.S. government that, with all of its flaws and it makes mistakes, is institutionally committed to objectivity and to telling the truth. It is one of the few institutions in Washington that is not in a chain of command that makes or implements policy. Its whole job is to speak the truth. It’s engraved in marble in the lobby.”