But Ryan failed to convince Clapper that Clinton should be blocked from these briefings. Until that time, given Clinton’s record of extraordinary lack of discretion and judgment, the risk is just too great.
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The House speaker originally tried to argue that giving Clinton briefings would be in poor taste after her “extremely careless” handling of email as secretary of state, in the words of FBI Director James Comey.
Ryan also talked about the month he spent going over the Republican agenda with Trump prior to endorsing him; an agenda he says that does not reflect what Hillary Clinton wants as president.
His op-ed on Wednesday was noteworthy for its criticism of Clapper, a career intelligence official who normally exists above the political fray in Washington.
Hughes, a Democrat, asked Ryan a question about improving health care for returning veterans who may have post traumatic stress disorder and asked him what he would do to ensure guns did not get into the hands of people with mental disorders.
Separately, in a letter to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing Phillips House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) asked the federal attorney to investigate whether the former First Lady “committed perjury and made false statements during her testimony under oath before congressional committees”.
“There is no legal requirement to provide candidates with intelligence briefings, so it seems reasonable for her to lose this privilege”, Ryan wrote. Some of that information was classified at the highest level, top secret.
“The consequences for the safety of our nation are grave”, Ryan wrote. Comey said the department concluded that while she was reckless with her use of email, the investigation did not turn up sufficient evidence to prosecute her.
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday defended his endorsement of Donald Trump – despite his frequent differences with the presumptive GOP nominee – saying the only alternative is giving the presidency to Hillary Clinton.
“Nominees for president and vice president receive these classified briefings by virtue of their status as candidates, and do not require separate security clearances before the briefings”, Clapper wrote his letter to the Republican leader.
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“Accordingly, I do not intend to withhold briefings from any officially nominated, eligible candidates”, Clapper said.
