But after President Donald Trump revoked former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance, Helt joined almost 200 colleagues to sign an unprecedented public letter of protest. "This is very rare," Helt told CNN of the letter, signed by more than 175 former intelligence community professionals. "I've never seen anything like it," said Larry Pfeiffer, former chief of staff to Gen. Michael Hayden, the former CIA and National Security Agency director. Signatories from all corners of the national security community spoke up, Shapiro said. The letter and its supporters haven't gone unnoticed within the intelligence community.

Source: CNN August 21, 2018 17:48 UTC