Biden: No intel briefings for 'erratic' Trump

President Joe Biden has said Donald Trump shouldn't have access to classified intelligence briefings, due to his "erratic behavior" and the concern that he might share classified information.

"I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings," Biden said in an interview with CBS News on Friday. "What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?"

Biden also cited his predecessor's "erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection" of January 6, which saw a group of his supporters break into the US Capitol building to prevent lawmakers from confirming Biden's election victory.

Since his loss in November, Trump has insisted that the election was stolen from him. He initiated dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits and launched an ongoing Twitter tirade, until the social media giant banned his account.

Lawmakers urge Trump's exclusion

It is customary to include former presidents in intelligence briefings. However, some Democratic lawmakers, and even some former Trump administration officials, have questioned whether to allow Trump to be briefed or not.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week that the issue of granting Trump briefings was "something that is under review."

While in the White House, Trump also repeatedly triggered concern over his use or dismissal of intelligence. In May 2017, he reportedly shared classified information in a meeting with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador that US intelligence believed put an ally's assets at risk. He also publicly questioned findings that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election.

Susan Gordon, who served as the principal deputy director of national intelligence from 2017 to 2019, called on Biden to remove Trump from intelligence briefings, in a Washington Post opinion piece last month.

"His post-White House 'security profile,' as the professionals like to call it, is daunting,'' Gordon wrote. "Any former president is by definition a target and presents some risks. But a former president Trump, even before the events of last week, might be unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent."

lc/shs (AP, AFP)