The following article by Julian Borger was posted on the Irish Times website August 23, 2017:
Obama-era intelligence chief James Clapper questions US president’s ‘fitness for office’ after Phoenix speech
Donald Trump’s access to the nuclear codes is “pretty damn scary”, a former US intelligence chief has said, calling Trump’s 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. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s access to nuclear codes is ‘pretty damn scary’”