Keep Trump out of the loop

The protocol is nothing new, according to Time, which reported that the practice dates back to former President Harry Truman, and that presidential and vice presidential nominees of both parties are are given the option to be briefed about “broad threats facing the nation”.

Could briefers give “fake” intelligence or watered down information, like Reid suggested? How could they do that?

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., then formally requested that the executive branch withhold briefings from Donald Trump later that same day.

Trump’s quip this week goading Russia’s intelligence services – widely suspected of hacking the Democratic National Committee’s email servers – to target Clinton’s accounts while serving as secretary of state was seen as particularly incendiary among intelligence professions who regard Russian Federation as a bitter foe.

“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”. “They probably have them. I’d like to have them released”.

“Of course I’m being sarcastic”, Mr. Trump said in a Fox News interview. When asked if he would hand them over if Hillary Clinton did the same with her Wall Street speeches, Trump still refused despite that they are likely more useful to his campaign than charity cash because they could contain damning evidence and garner him political points. In June, eight senior security officials told Reuters they were uneasy with delivering briefings to Trump, anxious that his habit of making impulsive and erratic statements about foreign policy could imperil national security.

For the first 52 years, the CIA gave the briefings, but since the 2004 election, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has, which include a printed briefing book for the candidate.

Trump agreed with Ryan in his most recent press conference, not only saying that Clinton couldn’t be trusted with classified information because of the email scandal, but also saying one of her top aides, Huma Abedin, couldn’t be trusted because of her husband. Trump said. “I don’t like Huma going home at night and telling Anthony Weiner all of these secrets, okay?”

Trump accepted the Republican nomination a week ago, but has not yet been given a briefing, said an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the briefings.

But the prospect of their receiving sensitive materials has prompted both Republicans and Democrats to heap criticism on the opposing party’s candidate, warning of a resulting catastrophe and calling on spy agencies to refuse to follow through on what has become an electoral tradition. “Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed nonpartisan basis”.