Florida Democratic representative Val Demings said on Saturday that she believes that former President Donald Trump will sell US intelligence briefings if he has the opportunity.
“I believe that this former president, and I believe with all my heart, would use intelligence as a bargaining chip or sell it at the highest bidder,” Demings said during an interview on MSNBC.
“We don’t trust our ex-president or many of our allies around the world,” added Demings, who serves on the House’s Judiciary, Homeland Security and Intelligence committees.
Demings’ comments come after President Joe Biden said that “there is no need” for Trump to continue receiving intelligence briefings after his departure.
As a courtesy, former presidents often have the opportunity to receive ongoing information under the supervision of the new commander in chief.
But in a new interview with CBS News, Biden said that Trump’s “erratic behavior” would be reason enough to prevent him from receiving instructions.
“I just think there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings. What is the value of giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does it have, other than the fact that he can slip and say something?” said the president during an interview that will air on Sunday.
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Demings said Trump proved to be an unworthy source of confidence during his tenure by “snuggling up” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We watched this president in action for four years. We saw him take the stage with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and basically do everything but ask the Russian dictator for an autograph. We saw him on a phone call with the Russian dictator and refuse to ask him about rewards placed on the heads of American soldiers, “she said.
“We saw him snuggle up with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un,” she added. “There is no circumstance in which the ex-president should receive information. Not now or, frankly, in the future.”
The only situation that would generate an intelligence briefing, Deming added, would be if the government had information that could be used to protect the security of the former president.
Even so, that information would need to be “defined in a clear and narrow way,” she said.
Demings’ comments come days before Trump’s impeachment hearing is scheduled to take place in the Senate.
The former president was impeached by the House of Representatives for the second time last month on charges of “inciting an insurrection” after a violent crowd of his supporters invaded the Capitol on January 6.
“Donald Trump has been impeached and, hopefully, he will be sentenced, because of the role he played in inciting a riot on January 6,” added Deming on Saturday. “The question arose: ‘Should he receive intelligence briefings?’ The answer is, based on the opinion of this member of the intelligence committee, ‘no’. “
Newsweek contacted Demings for further comments, but received no response in time for publication.