Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton Will Receive Classified Briefings After DNC
The briefings are a part of the transition-of-power process.
— -- Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will begin receiving classified intelligence briefings after the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia next week, when both candidates have become their respective parties' presidential nominees, senior intelligence officials tells ABC News.
“The briefings are traditionally given after nominating conventions have identified all the candidates,” the official said.
Republican and Democratic presidential and vice presidential nominees have been offered introductory intelligence briefings on national security since 1952, after their parties' national conventions. So Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Clinton's running mate will receive them as well.
The ritual, organized by the Director of National Intelligence and the White House, is meant to prepare the candidates for the transition of power.
Former intelligence officials have expressed reservations about Trump and Clinton receiving the briefings, concerned about their ability to handle classified information.
Congressional Republicans, following the FBI probe into Clinton's handling of classified information on her private server, have sought to block the presumptive Democratic nominee's access to classified intelligence.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, wrote a letter to James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, requesting that Clinton be denied access to such briefings, but was rebuffed.
“Briefings for the candidates will be provided on an even-handed, non-partisan basis,” the DNI said in its response to Ryan earlier this month.
FBI Director James Comey cleared Clinton of any criminal wrongdoing, but said she and her staff were "extremely careless" with their handling of classified information.
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