For more than 60 years, both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees have received classified national security briefings, bypassing any formal clearance process. In 2016, those candidates have demonstrated themselves unworthy of such a responsibility. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton narrowly avoided federal prosecution for using an insecure homebrew email server to execute official State Dept. business. Republican nominee Donald Trump has several top campaign staffers with strong financial ties to Russia, an avowed US adversary, and his unreleased tax returns may reveal personal connections to Russia. He also directly appealed to Russian hackers to target Clinton for his political benefit. The president should strip both candidates of their access to classified information.



