Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has received just two classified intelligence briefings, far less than that of his predecessors, since his surprise election victory more than two weeks ago, a media report has said.
“Trump has a lot of catching up to do,” a senior US official told The Washington Post.
The Post reported that Trump so far has received two classified intelligence briefing, which is far less than those by previous president-elect.
However, the vice president elect Mike Pence has been receiving it almost every day, it added.
Trump supporters dismissed the issue.
“National security is Donald Trump’s No.1 priority and I think he’s taking it very seriously. Look how many leaders he’s met with, how many phone calls he’s done, positions he’s filled. People who are being critical need to get a life,” said Congressman David Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
The Trump Campaign, did not respond to questions but advised against assigning any significance to it.
Intelligence officials said they have been ready to brief the president-elect every day.
Trump, however has been spending his time in Cabinet formation and selecting key members of his administration.
“His pace is not as frequent as most recent presidents-elect, but it is not unprecedented over the decades-long scope of these briefings,” David Priess, a former CIA officer and PDB briefer during the George W Bush administration told the Post.
“The last three presidents-elect used the intelligence briefings offered during the transition to literally study the national security issues that they would be facing and the world leaders with whom they would be interacting as president,” said Michael Morell, former deputy CIA director, who supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during the campaign.
“The president-elect is missing out on a golden opportunity to learn about the national security threats and challenges facing our nation knowledge that would be extremely valuable to have when he takes the oath of office and when he steps into the Situation Room for the first time,” Morrell told the daily.
PTI
