So, to state the obvious: The folks whose clearances Trump threatened to pull (a) have in many cases already lost them and (b) have not been making use of their access to classified information in their public criticism of him.
Revoking their clearance makes no sense as a preventative measure. Nor does it really make sense as a punitive measure—those people either already don’t have or no longer really need their clearances.
It makes sense only as a deterrent to OTHER people—people who, unlike Comey or McCabe, have gone to private sector jobs that require a clearance & aren’t famous enough to make a living writing books and giving lectures.
The message is: “Hey little fish, if I’ll do this to former directors, you’d better be ready to lose your job if you want to open your mouth to criticize this administration."
Then when they’re cowed Trump can claim the “rank and file” of the intelligence community support him (it’s just those evil Deep State political appointees Obama installed who are the problem) without worrying about retired FBI folks bursting the bubble.
Realize, if you’re a non-famous IC person looking for post-government employment, whether or not you can retain a clearance makes a HUGE difference to your earning potential.
So Trump’s threat is meaningless to Brennan, Comey, and McCabe. But he’s telling everyone else: “Criticize me and it could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars."
