Former President Donald Trump is unlikely to get access to classified intelligence briefings as is the convention with former presidents. Trump has not made a formal request for regular intelligence briefings but even if he does make a request he won't be getting one. Ending weeks of speculation, President Joe Biden has unequivocally said Trump is not going to get access to the briefings.
During an interview with CBS Evening News the President said Trump's "erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection' makes him ineligible to get the top secret classified intelligence information.
When anchor Norah O'Donnell asked Biden what he feared most about Trump getting the intelligence, the President said he would not speculate out loud. "I just think that there is no need for him to have the -- the intelligence briefings. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?" the President said, according to CNN.
A day earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said the intelligence community usually reviews a former president's requests for briefings. "The intelligence community supports requests for intelligence briefings by former presidents and will review any incoming requests, as they always have," Psaki had said.
Meanwhile, a senior administration official had earlier confirmed that Trump had not made any request for intelligence briefing. It was also reported previously that Trump was averse to studiously go through the daily intelligence briefings delivered to the White House. Instead, the president would usually get a oral briefing two or three times a week.
'I Ran Like Hell to Defeat Him'
During the interview, Biden was also tossed the question if he would vote to convict Trump in the Senate impeachment trial. Navigating the question skillfully, Biden answered: "Look, I ran like hell to defeat him because I thought he was unfit to be president ... I've watched what everybody else watched, what happened when that -- that crew invaded the United States Congress. But I'm not in the Senate now. I'll let the Senate make that decision."
Earlier, Rep. Adam Schiff of California had called for barring Trump from getting the intelligence briefings. "There's no circumstance in which this president should get another intelligence briefing, not now, not in the future. I don't think he can be trusted with it now and in the future," said Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee.
