--- title: Paul Ryan Says Trump Is Trolling With Clearance Threats description: House Speaker Paul Ryan said President Donald Trump is "trolling people" with his threats to revoke security clearance from critics canonical: https://time.com/5347239/paul-ryan-donald-trump-trolling-security-clearance/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-24T16:43:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:35:22.483Z article:section: Politics og:title: Paul Ryan Thinks Trump is Trolling Critics With Threats to Revoke Security Clearance og:description: "I think he's trolling people, honestly," Ryan chuckled og:url: https://time.com/5347239/paul-ryan-donald-trump-trolling-security-clearance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e07592c4990face/6989338fbc6cfc9a543e644f/800-32.jpg?branch=production&width=800&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 800 og:image:height: 450 og:image:alt: 800-3 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Paul Ryan Thinks Trump is Trolling Critics With Threats to Revoke Security Clearance twitter:description: "I think he's trolling people, honestly," Ryan chuckled twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e07592c4990face/6989338fbc6cfc9a543e644f/800-32.jpg?branch=production&width=800&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Paul Ryan Says President Trump Is 'Trolling' Critics With Threats to Revoke Security Clearance > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3e66c6a-78cf-4bba-915a-0bcdfd6714da&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of Former Intelligence and Security Officials [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of Former Intelligence and Security Officials](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uNk07ZF2.m3u8) (2:41)  _Published 2018-07-23. President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level intelligence and national security officials who have criticized him, the White House said Monday afternoon._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 24, 2018 4:43 PM UTC At his weekly press conference, Speaker Paul Ryan said he thinks President Trump is 'trolling' people with threats of revoking former intelligence and security officials' security clearances.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 24, 2018 4:43 PM UTC House Speaker Paul Ryan responded rather casually to the White House’s revelation that President Donald Trump is considering revoking security clearances of former intelligence officials who have criticized him. “I think he’s trolling people, honestly,” Ryan said with a chuckle at the House Republican leadership’s weekly press conference Tuesday when asked about the White House’s comments on this topic. “This is something thats in the purview of the executive branch. I think some of these people have already lost their clearances, some people keep their clearances. That’s something the executive branch deals with – its not really in our purview.” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Trump was [considering revoking the security clearances](http://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/) of former intelligence officials who have been critical of his presidency, including former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden. “The President is exploring the mechanisms because they politicize and in some cases monetize their public service,” Sanders said at her regular briefing Monday. Republican Sen. Rand Paul said he told Trump that these officials should have their security clearance revoked, arguing that such action would prevent critical former officials from leveraging their experience to make money on speaking fees. But the White House’s statement sparked outrage from the officials – as well as their associates. “John Brennan hasn’t made one penny off of his clearance. Not one thing he has done for remuneration since leaving the government has been contingent on him having a security clearance,” said Nick Shapiro, who was Brennan’s Deputy Chief of Staff at the CIA. “This is a political attack on career national security officials who have honorably served their country for decades under both Republicans & Democrats in an effort to distract from Mueller’s investigation.” But, as Ryan noted, some of the figures Sanders mentioned – like Comey and McCabe – don’t even have security clearances anymore since their employments were terminated. “Andrew McCabe’s security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, according to what we were told was FBI policy,” Melissa Schwartz, a spokesperson for McCabe, said in a statement. ## Transcript [00:00] The president is threatening to punish Brennan and [00:02] Comey and Clapper for saying things about him that he [00:06] doesn't like. Is that presidential? The president is [00:10] exploring these mechanisms to remove security [00:14] clearance because they've politicized and in some [00:16] cases actually monetized Their public service and their [00:19] security clearances and making baseless accusations [00:23] of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by [00:26] Russia against the President is extremely [00:28] inappropriate. The President contends to the fact that [00:31] people with security clearances are making these [00:33] baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to [00:36] accusations with zero evidence. So, there- When we [00:38] have futher updates, On that front, I'll certainly let you [00:41] know. Free speech he doesn't like, and he wants to [00:43] punish them for it. No, I think you are creating your [00:47] own story there. The president doesn't like the fact [00:50] that people are politicizing agencies and [00:55] departments that are specifically Meant to not be [00:58] political and not meant to be monetized off of security [01:01] clearance. [ UNKNOWN ] [ UNKNOWN ] A separate [01:01] question actually, but to follow up on that. Isn't the [01:05] President doing exactly what you just said the [01:07] President doesn't want all these people doing? [01:08] Politizing matters of national security by going after his [01:11] political enemies? No the president's not making [01:13] baseless accusations of improper contact with a [01:16] foreign government and accusing the president of the [01:20] United States of treasonous activity. When you have the [01:22] highest level of security clearance, when you're the [01:24] person that holds the nation's deepest, most sacred [01:28] secrets at your hands and you go out and you make [01:31] false accusations against the president of the United [01:33] States. He thinks that's a Something to be very concern [01:37] with and we're exploring what those options are and [01:41] what that looks like. [ CROSSTALK ] My question is not [01:43] about the press but is the President brief to his [01:45] National Security Advisor, his Secretary of State, the [01:48] Director of National Intellegence, And the Defense [01:51] Secretary on what exactly was said between him and [01:53] President Putin? The President has met and spoken [01:57] with all of those individuals since his meeting with [01:59] President Putin. David. And when he briefs them, is he [02:00] relying solely on his own memory to tell them what [02:02] happened during that two- hour meeting? The [02:05] president has met and consulted with all of his national [02:08] security team. And we feel very confident in this [02:10] process. It's on what he remembers that happened. [02:12] It's not- Katelyn I'm not gonna go into the specific [02:14] details on how the president interacts every single time [02:18] with his national security team. Well this is a rarity [02:20] though. But- It's a sit down with the Russian president [02:22] for two hours one- on- one. It's actually not a rarity. [02:22] It's a A normal practice for two world leaders to be [02:26] able to have a conversation with one another. David, [02:27] go ahead. What about President Obama and [02:31] Vice President Biden and their security clearances, are [02:33] they on the list as well? I'm not aware of any plans for [02:36] that at this point. Thanks so much, guys, we'll see you [02:37] on the South Lawn. Are we going to war with Iran? That [02:38] was a great question, David. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5347239/paul-ryan-donald-trump-trolling-security-clearance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5347239/paul-ryan-donald-trump-trolling-security-clearance/"},"headline":"Paul Ryan Says President Trump Is 'Trolling' Critics With Threats to Revoke Security Clearance","datePublished":"2018-07-24T16:43:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:35:22.483Z","description":"\"I think he's trolling people, honestly,\" Ryan chuckled","url":"https://time.com/5347239/paul-ryan-donald-trump-trolling-security-clearance/","keywords":["Congress","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e07592c4990face/6989338fbc6cfc9a543e644f/800-32.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e07592c4990face/6989338fbc6cfc9a543e644f/800-32.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"800-3","caption":"Speaker of the House Paul Ryan talks following a closed-door conference with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, June 20, 2018.","creditText":"J. 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