As United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said on June 11, 2021 with respect to Biden Administration efforts to combat the CV-19 Pandemic, “Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.” [Emphasis added].
In this case, the extraordinary circumstances are Donald Trump’s imminent accession to the status of the Republican Party‘s nominee to occupy the Office of the Presidency of the United States.
It is customary for the nominees of the major parties to receive classified briefings concerning matters of National Security.
President Harry Truman, in whose administration the Central Intelligence Agency and the postwar Intelligence Community (IC) were created, instituted the custom of providing candidates for the presidency classified briefings on foreign developments. In 1952 he authorized CIA to brief Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and Gov. Adlai Stevenson so that the successful candidate would be as well informed as possible about the world situation when he took office. The briefings would also position CIA to develop a close working relationship with the new president and his advisers. These two objectives have guided the efforts of CIA and the IC during presidential transition periods ever since.
Getting to Know the President, Fourth Edition
Intelligence Briefings of Presidential Candidates and Presidents-Elect, 1952–2016
[Link to a web page administered by the Central Intelligence Agency.]
This is a matter of custom: it is not a matter of statute. In other words, such briefings are not legally required.
It should be obvious to all that providing Donald Trump with classified briefings poses significant National Security risks. He currently faces felony criminal charges related to his mishandling of National-Security Information.
In light of this extraordinary circumstance, President Biden should issue a statement saying that:
My Administration is suspending the customary practice of providing major-party candidates and nominees with National-Security briefings, at least with respect to Donald Trump unless and until he receives the appropriate level of security clearance. To obtain such clearance, he must apply for and must pass the same screening that anyone seeking employment at the Central Intelligence Agency, at the Defense Intelligence Agency, at the National Security Council, or at the White House would have to pass.
The Republicans will surely wail, and gnash their teeth, rend their garments, and complain about the trashing of comity and of norms. So what? They have absolutely no credibility in this area. Donald Trump has trashed norms ever since he rode down that fake-gold-toned escalator at soon-to-be-renamed Empire State Tower on 16 June 2015. National Security comes first!