Donald Trump

Could Candidate Donald Trump Be Denied National Security Briefings?

The national security briefings are "a courtesy" and not required by law

Calls have increased for Republican nominee Donald Trump to be denied national security briefings offered to presidential nominees of major political parties after his entreaty to Russian hackers to find Hillary Clinton's deleted e-mails, NBC News reported.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes the untrustworthy Trump is given "fake intelligence briefings." Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island sent a letter to President Barack Obama saying Trump "is unfit to receive sensitive intelligence" and asks that he "withhold" Trump's expected intelligence briefing.

The national security briefings are "a courtesy," at the discretion of the president and not required by law, according to David Priess, the author of "The President's Book of Secrets." But, Priess noted, if a candidate divulges classified information, there could be legal repercussions but the political repercussions would probably be far worse.

On Thursday, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said the president will respect the 60-year-old tradition.

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