Calls Mount to Deny Trump Classified Security Briefings After Asking Russia to Commit Espionage

Should Donald Trump Be Trusted With Classified National Security Intel?

Both 2016 presidential candidates are slated to begin receiving classified national security intelligence briefings next week, but after Donald Trump called on Russia to engage in espionage Wednesday morning by hacking into Hillary Clinton’s email account some are calling for the federal government to deny him access.

Several petitions are making their way online across the nation, including one calling on National Intelligence Director James Clapper to withhold “all classified national security briefings from Donald Trump.”

In a press conference broadcast live on national television Wednesday morning Trump said, “I will tell you this, Russia, if you’re listening I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”  

“I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,” the GOP presidential candidate added.

Calling giving Trump classified information “horrifying,” a petition by CREDO Action, currently with over 75,000 signatures, reads:

“Let’s be clear: Trump’s encouragement of a dangerous dictator like Vladimir Putin to commit espionage and publicize state secrets poses serious national security concerns, and may violate federal law.”

It adds that there is “no legal requirement for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to provide the presidential candidates with classified information.”

Another petition, filed on the White House’s own petition site, calls Trump “unqualified and unhinged,” and says allowing him to receive classified national security intelligence “will pose a clear-and-present danger to the American people.”

And another White House petition calls Trump a “pathological liar currently under investigation for fraud,” and notes he “has alleged ties to Putin and belongs to a party that has neither vetted him or demanded his tax returns.”

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid urged the Obama administration to just give Trump “fake” briefings.

“I would suggest to the intelligence agencies, if you’re forced to brief this guy, don’t tell him anything, just fake it, because this man is dangerous,” Sen. Reid told The Huffington Post Wednesday.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday said both candidates will be briefed and will receive the same information.

“The administration is confident that they can both provide relevant and sufficient briefings to the two major party presidential candidates while still protecting sensitive national security information,” Earnest told reporters.

And on social media, some are speaking out as well:

 

 Image by Matt Johnson via Flickr and a CC license