Washington, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Sunday took aim at former CIA Director John Brennan, who on Friday night stated that Trump will go down in history as a “disgraced demagogue.” Paul responded that Brennan’s attacks on the “Bill of Rights” and “freedoms of every American” while running the agency were “disgraceful.”
Brennan’s tweet exposed the politicized nature of the former CIA Director:
When the full extent of your venality, moral turpitude, and political corruption becomes known, you will take your rightful place as a disgraced demagogue in the dustbin of history. You may scapegoat Andy McCabe, but you will not destroy America…America will triumph over you. https://t.co/uKppoDbduj
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) March 17, 2018
“This man had the power to search every American’s records without a warrant,” Paul tweeted Sunday. “What’s disgraceful is attacking the Bill of Rights and the freedom of every American.”
This man had the power to search every American’s records without a warrant. What’s disgraceful is attacking the Bill of Rights and the freedom of every American. https://t.co/l0cORowhKP
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 18, 2018
As Fox News reported, this is not the first time Paul has called Brennan out for his lack of respect for the rule of law; in 2013, the Kentucky senator undertook a 13-hour filibuster on the floor of the Senate to block Brennan’s nomination by President Obama to head the CIA, questioning whether the administration believed it was legal to launch a drone strike on an American citizen on U.S. soil.
Then, only 18 months later, Paul was part of a bipartisan effort to remove Brennan as CIA Director in the wake of revelations that the agency had spied on Senate Intelligence Committee staffers and lied to Congress about it.
Paul’s recent criticism of Brennan comes in response to Brennan’s tweet about Trump, which was likely prompted by Attorney General Jeff Sessions firing FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe two days before his retirement and eligibility for a full pension.
Despite the suggestion of impropriety in the firing of McCabe, Sessions issued a statement that noted the firing of McCabe was based upon a report regarding McCabe’s conduct from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that was sent to the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
“The FBI’s OPR then reviewed the report and underlying documents and issued a disciplinary proposal recommending the dismissal of Mr. McCabe. Both the OIG and FBI OPR reports concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions,” read Sessions’ statement.
Perhaps even more revealing was former UN Ambassador Samantha Power’s tweet in regards to Brennan’s tweet, where she claimed, “it’s not a good idea to piss off John Brennan.”
Not a good idea to piss off John Brennan. https://t.co/VLg94OLL2R
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) March 17, 2018
Some social media users took the opportunity to remind the public that investigative journalist Michael Hastings was working on a piece about then-CIA Director Brennan when he died under suspicious circumstances.
Michael Hastings Was Investigating John Brennan's Role in Press Crackdown Before His Death https://t.co/RLGVfBR4wk
— Mike Cernovich 🇺🇸 (@Cernovich) March 18, 2018
After backlash followed her commentary, Powers sent a follow-up tweet that aimed to spin the authoritarian nature of her initial tweet.
Whoa! Just home & see much misinterp. of earlier tweet. It’s testament to polarized times that it cd be misread as referring to something other than Brennan’s indignation. So will translate: not a good idea to upset @JohnBrennan bc/ he will raise an angry (& eloquent) voice. https://t.co/YgIjeKGAlp
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) March 18, 2018
In an interview with Fox News, former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino took issue with Brennan’s overwhelming hubris.
“Brennan’s worried about how he claimed— under oath, by the way— that he had no information about the [Trump] dossier, yet went up and briefed people on Capitol Hill,” he said.
“Stay off the air, go get a lawyer and pipe down. You’re in a lot more trouble than you think you are. You’re hubris is overwhelming right now,” Bongino said, noting the unmaskings reportedly undertaken by Power and claiming that the two participated “in the largest government conspiracy to spy on a presidential candidate in modern American history.”
