Ex-intelligence chief: Trump's access to nuclear codes is 'pretty damn scary'

Ex-intelligence chief: Trump's access to nuclear codes is 'pretty damn scary'

Donald Trump’s access to the nuclear codes is “pretty damn scary”, a former US intelligence chief has said, calling Trump’s latest rally in Arizona on Tuesday night “disturbing”.

James Clapper, director of national intelligence for seven years under Barack Obama, questioned the US president’s “fitness to be in this office” after his demagogic performance in Phoenix, and expressed anxiety about Trump’s power to launch nuclear weapons without consulting Congress or any other official.

Once a president has verified his identity with a code kept constantly on his person or nearby, the military chain of command has no power to block his launch orders.

“Having some understanding of the levers that a president can exercise, I worry about, frankly, the access to the nuclear codes,” Clapper told CNN, pointing to the current stand-off with North Korea.
Read More...