‘Trump like a TYRANT’- Former CIA boss HITS BACK at US president in FIERY rebuke

Mr Brennan, who was the US’s top intelligence officer under Barack Obama, claimed the unconventional move from Mr Trump was evidence he was being castigated for openly critiquing the White House.

Responding to the measure, Mr Brennan labelled Mr Trump as possessing tyrannical traits and said the move comprised part of the president’s broader efforts to “suppress freedom of speech and punish critics”.

In a heated rebuff, he told MSNBC: “I’ve seen this type of behaviour on the part of foreign tyrants and despots and autocrats for many years during my CIA and national security career.

“I never, ever thought that I would see it here in the United States.”

Mr Brennan vowed to continue calling the president to account, adding: “If Mr Trump believes that this is going to lead me to just go away and be quiet, he is very badly mistaken.”

The revoking of Mr Brennan’s security clearance was in response to, in Mr Trump’s words, “his erratic conduct and behaviour”.

Mr Trump also threatened to withdraw the clearances of a number of individuals, including former top intelligence and law enforcement officials, as well as a current member of the Justice Department, the London Evening Standard reported.

In a statement, Mr Trump stated he was also considering whether to stop access to classified information for fired FBI director James Comey, former National Security Agency director Michael Hayden, former intelligence director James Clapper and former attorney general Sally Yates.

All those for whom Mr Trump plans to pull security clearances have been critics of his administration.

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused Mr Trump of “putting personal petty politics ahead of patriotism and national security”.

But the president described his action as carrying out his “constitutional responsibility to protect the nation’s classified information”.

Mr Brennan has outwardly critiqued the Trump administration and infuriated the president by branding his performance at the July meeting with Vladimir Putin as “nothing short of treasonous”.

The former CIA chief wrote in a raging tweet: “It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out.

“My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent.”

More than 300 US news organisations have launched a free press campaign in response to Mr Trump’s criticism of the media.

The New York Times called Mr Trump’s attacks “dangerous to the lifeblood of democracy” in an article headlined A Free Press Needs You.

The article, written by the editorial board, said: “Answering a call last week from The Boston Globe, The Times is joining hundreds of newspapers, from large metro-area dailies to small local weeklies, to remind readers of the value of America’s free press.

“These editorials, some of which we’ve excerpted, together affirm a fundamental American institution.”