Should Trump Get Intel Briefings? Lawmakers Are Nervous

(Composite / Photos: GettyImages)

When a candidate officially secures a major party’s presidential nomination, he or she begins receiving intelligence briefings at the highest level. This isn’t required by law, but is a custom—a courtesy started by President Truman, who famously had a steep learning curve upon his sudden ascension to the presidency; the idea is to make sure that the next president is prepared for the job. The practice has become an important element of the smooth transfer of power, and it ensures the country’s interests are maintained no matter who wins. 

But what happens when one of those major parties nominates someone who is actively being prosecuted for mishandling classified information, and who himself tried to prevent the transfer of power to his successor after the previous election? I sought to find that out this week.

Having secured enough delegates Tuesday night to become the Republican party’s presumptive nominee, Trump presumably will begin receiving classified briefings again in July after he receives the party’s official nomination at the Republican National Convention. Less than a week after Trump apparently reversed course on a national security policy priority because a billionaire GOP donor told him to (and also hung out with a European strongman cozy with the Chinese government, to boot), some of the lawmakers I spoke to are totally cool with the former president getting classified briefings once again, even though they are politically or morally opposed to him and don’t trust him.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), said definitively, “I do,” when I asked if Trump should receive briefings. In his view, the system needs to work as designed. “Once he becomes the nominee, he would need to be informed as to security issues and be able to respond appropriately if he were elected,” he said.