IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Trump to Receive Classified Intelligence Briefing

Donald Trump will receive a classified intelligence briefing on Wednesday in New York, a federal official confirms.
Image: Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Crown Arena, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, in Fayetteville, N.C.Evan Vucci / AP

Donald Trump will receive a classified intelligence briefing on Wednesday in New York, a federal official confirms.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will conduct the briefing, making use of a secure FBI facility.

Such briefings have been conducted since the 1950s for presidential candidates in the general election. But Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said last month at the Aspen Security Conference that the briefings during the campaign are "fairly general."

Related: Could Candidate Donald Trump Be Denied National Security Briefings?

He hinted that they do not delve into more sensitive matters until a candidate becomes president-elect. News of the briefing was first reported by ABC News.

In recent weeks, a chorus of lawmakers and political groups have raised concerns about Trump, the Republican Party presidential nominee, receiving such briefings given his rhetoric about Russia. Last month, Trump said Russia should "find the 30,000 emails that are missing" from Hillary Clinton's email account.

This prompted Rep. David Cicilline, D- Rhode Island, to send a letter to President Barack Obama stressing that Trump is "unfit to receive sensitive intelligence" and requesting that his intelligence briefing be withheld. One liberal group, CREDO, netted 80,000 signatures on a petition to block Trump from receiving security briefings.

“He's going to get some briefings between now and Election Day. Frankly, they'll be labeled secret, but they'll be secret-light. They'll be generalized discussions. Both candidates will get them,” retired Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and NSA, told MSNBC recently.

The classified briefing comes on the heels of Trump's unveiling a series of foreign policy proposals earlier in the week that included "extreme vetting" of immigrants and only allowing those who "share our values and respect our people" into the United States.