Mainstream media is flipping out over President Donald Trump revoking the security clearance of former Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan – one of the president’s harshest critics.

Brennan served as CIA director from 2013 to 2017 and was replaced when President Trump took office. Ever since Brennan has been a paid regular CNN commentator and political analyst who never stops his relentless attacks upon the president and CNN eats his words like a bunch of kids downing a bag of Oreo cookies.

Fact is this entire policy of allowing former federal government officials to retain security clearances after they leave government service needs to be changed. Once retired or entering the private sector former government officials should voluntarily surrender their security clearances or have them automatically revoked following a short period of changeover. The theory is once a new administration takes over the former heads of agencies and cabinet level secretaries retain their clearances in order to be able to advise the incoming team of ongoing events in a spirit of cooperation ensuring smooth transitions.

In the case of Brennan and nine others that President Trump has announced he is reviewing their security clearances and may revoke their security clearances as well.

This privilege of retaining security clearances — as we are now seeing — leads to the creation of a real ‘Deep State’ that works against the new administration constitutionally voted in by the citizenry. The ‘Deep Staters’ cannot accept the results of the last election and they work behind the scenes to derail those that took their place — due to the will of the American voters – and their security clearances enable them to do so.

Read over this list of former and current federal government officials that the president has highlighted for possible security clearance revocations. Many of these people have repeatedly been in the news highly critical of President Trump, his team and the “America First” agenda. They include former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former FBI Director James Comey, former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI agent Peter Strzok, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and current U.S. Department of Justice official Bruce Ohr.

Clapper and Hayden are also a paid CNN commentators and national security analysts. Same as Brennan — Clapper and Hayden abuse their security clearances by using their access to sensitive government information to be more attractive to CNN and qualify for higher pay in the private sector while also collecting their government service pensions. Without their security clearances they are less employable.

Private companies find those with prior high-level government experience — complete with a current up-to-date security clearance — very attractive when competing for and securing government contract work. Their security clearances insure access to inside information.

In a statement released Wednesday President Trump said the public conduct of Brennan, Clapper and Hayden “raises questions about the practice of former officials maintaining access to our nation’s sensitive secrets long after their time in government has ended … Such access is particularly inappropriate when former officials have transitioned into highly partisan positions and seek to use real or perceived access to sensitive information to validate their political attacks.”

Of course mainstream media is painting a whole different picture that Brennan’s revocation in intended as punishment and an attempt to silence his constant negative President Trump rhetoric.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday in a TV news interview that Brennan was “monetizing his security clearance.”

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders read a statement from President Trump during Wednesday’s daily White House press briefing. “Mr. Brennan’s lying and recent conduct characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary is holly inconsistent with access to the nation’s most closely held secrets and facilities, the very aim of our adversaries, which is to sow division and chaos.”

Just how much would Brennan, Clapper and Hayden have to say if they were not paid commentators? They are clearly abusing their security clearances and they should all be revoked — not just Brennan’s.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.