Donald Trump Is a Clear and Present Danger to the National Security of the United States, Former DOJ Chief Says

A top former Department of Justice official warned that President Donald Trump has become a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.

Amid revelations of Trump's secretive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, David Laufman—who formerly headed the DOJ's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section—told Rachel Maddow on MSNBC Monday night that Trump could no longer be trusted to protect the country.

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On Saturday, Laufman shared an article by The Washington Post on his Twitter page, which reported that Trump had gone to great lengths to hide the details of his meetings with Putin, even from senior figures within his own administration.

The president allegedly took possession of transcripts of his one-on-one meetings with the Russian leader, and told his interpreter not to repeat anything they had discussed.

"Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country," Laufman wrote alongside the link. When asked by Maddow why he decided to share the article, Laufman said, "It was a tipping point for me.

"I feel I have a moral obligation to speak up when I see action taken by the president or the members of the administration that—in my judgement—undermine the national security of the United States," he said. "And the notion that the president of the United States would be trying to conceal the details of conversations with the leader of our principal foreign adversary was positively chilling."

Now is the time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country https://t.co/CHkIZnocW6

— David Laufman (@DavidLaufmanLaw) January 13, 2019

Laufman led the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section from 2014 to February 2018, when he resigned, citing personal reasons.

Laufman said "there's a culmination of things" that now exist in the public record to support his assertion. He cited "the unbelievable acquiescence to Vladimir Putin in Helsinki that was positively shocking to those of us who worked in the national security all of our lives," as well as "all of the many things that you have read in the charging documents, people associated with the president.

"All those to me point to a reasonable inference—and it's a painful anguishing thing to acknowledge—that the president of the United States is a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States," Laufman said.

"It's not just in the typical classic national security field," he continued. "It's not just about our ability to project military strength abroad or promote relations with our allies or adversaries—national security begins at home."

"The position that this administration has taken on domestic public policy issues—the divisiveness it has struck with respect to dividing us as a people, undermining the cohesiveness as a people—that weakens us as a nation and makes us more vulnerable to our enemies."

Though Laufman acknowledged he was "just one small voice among many," he stressed he "felt the need to issue a kind of small cry—or call—to action."

He now hopes his words will "impel members of Congress—on both sides of the aisle—members of this administration, and American citizens in their own communities who can mobilize and express their views to bring about additional accountability for this administration in matters that are detrimental to our country's interests."

The counterintelligence veteran called on American citizens to make their voices heard and apply mass pressure to Trump's administration. "It is truly a call to arms, in a nonlethal-violent sense, to express as a people what we think about what is going on at the highest levels of government," Laufman said. "Now is the time to do that."

Donald Trump Russia Putin
President Donald Trump answers questions from journalists as he leaves the White House on January 14. A top former Department of Justice official warned that President Donald Trump has become a clear and present danger to the... Win McNamee/Getty Images

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David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO, the European ... Read more

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