Flight Risk

Until Trump, we never had to worry about a President being a traitor

Matt Zeller, who used to write Presidential Daily Briefings for Barack Obama, notes that Donald Trump has more state secrets than ready cash. What if he decides to cash in the former for the latter as his debts come due? The President of the United States is a flight risk.

Zeller’s previous contributions to The Experiment include Presidential Daily Briefing and Fascism.

by Matt Zeller

Any American who has applied for a government security clearance is familiar with two arduous forms – the Standard Form 86 (SF-86) and the Financial Disclosure Form. The SF-86 asks things like, where have you lived, what jobs have you held, what drugs you have done, and what crimes have you committed (if any). The point of the form is to gather information about the applicant and then determine if they can be trusted with our country’s most guarded knowledge.

The Financial Disclosure Form requires all respondents to annually list out the entirety of their financial assets – so that investigators can determine if the applicant is a potential exploitation risk (i.e. selling secrets to pay off debt). Presidents are not required to fill out either or undergo a vetting process to determine if they can be trusted to access our secrets - because up until Trump, we never had to worry about a President also being a traitor.

The Financial Disclosure Form came about due to one of the most damaging traitors in US history, former CIA officer Aldrich Ames (who spied for the Soviet Union), whose betrayal led to the deaths of countless CIA officers and assets. Aldrich, who was massively in debt due to a divorce and a second wife with an insatiable appetite for luxury, approached the Soviet KGB and offered himself up as a spy in return for cash. Prior to his betrayal, the Financial Disclosure Form did not exist - now, anyone seeking a clearance must fill it out. 

Presidents are not required to fill out either or undergo a vetting process to determine if they can be trusted to access our secrets - because up until Trump, we never had to worry about a President also being a traitor.

Aldrich doesn’t hold a candle to the damage President Trump and his family could cause if they chose to exploit secrets for their gain. As the NY Times reported, President Trump is at least over $421 million in debt with few assets to pay it off. That debt is due to come due next year. Moreover, the President and his family are likely to face criminal charges in multiple US states. No one knows how many of our secrets they know and could use to pay off their debts or buy their freedom. Our secrets are Trump’s most valuable assets. Even if he asked for $100 billion and asylum in exchange for them, that’s still a bargain - and one Russia or China could easily afford - for any nation willing to pay.

Trump already has a history of using our classified information to suit his personal aims. Trump personally disclosed highly classified information to the Russians in a 2017 Oval Office meeting - the damage was so great, the CIA had to extract an asset out of Russia for fear their life was in danger. The CIA has been so concerned that Trump is a Manchurian President that its purposely withheld information from him. Finally, the numerous allegations of foreign influence guiding Trump and his familys’ decisions during his Presidency raises all sorts of concerns about whether their loyalty is to the United States or solely to themselves. In short, he has all the motivation to flee, the means to do so, and the goods (our secrets) to keep him and his family well off in exile. Thus, we must conclude that they are flight risks and should have their passports seized accordingly.

Through his ramblings, rage tweeting, and inane press conferences since the election, Trump has made it clear he refuses to accept the reality that he lost the election, to concede, or to go peacefully. He even said during the campaign, “Could you imagine if I lose?...Maybe I have to leave the country…” He’s telegraphing his next move. At some point, he will be left with the two most basic options – fight or flight. Either will be catastrophic for our country. 

If he were to order his Secret Service detail to bring him to Air Force One and then ordered the pilots and crew to fly to Moscow, could anyone actually stop him?

The damage he could cause America if Russia or China were to grant him asylum in exchange for what he and his family know is unimaginable and incalculable. Which is why we have to act now while they still hold power. If he were to order his Secret Service detail to bring him to Air Force One and then ordered the pilots and crew to fly to Moscow, could anyone actually stop him?

So what can be done?

Congress should immediately pass legislation temporarily revoking his and his family’s passports. The secret service agents guarding them should be ordered to prevent and disrupt any attempt by them to flee. Finally, America needs a system in place to ensure that future Presidents cannot pull a similar scheme at the end of their Presidency. 

Zeller is the Co-Founder of No One Left Behind, a Truman National Security Fellow and an adjunct fellow at the American Security Project. He authored Watches Without Time (Just World Books, 2012), which chronicles his experience serving as an embedded combat adviser with the Afghan security forces in Ghazni, Afghanistan, in 2008. He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 2010 in NY’s 29th Congressional District, which was a crappy year to run as a Democrat. He earned a BA in Government from Hamilton College and a MPA and a MA-IR from The Maxwell School at Syracuse University. 

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