"To anyone who has actually had to protect the nation’s secrets, Hillary Clinton’s email setup as secretary of state was inconceivable and her later explanations of it were incomprehensible," Hayden said of the Democratic presidential candidate in a New York Times opinion piece.
Hayden also criticized the Republican candidate saying, "Donald J. Trump has never been exposed to state secrets, so the issue is not that he may have been careless in the past. It’s just that he seems to say anything that enters his head at the moment."
The former CIA chief questioned Trump’s "openness" to consider information that may run contrary to his beliefs or campaign positions, and wondered whether Clinton’s mishandling of classified emails might "strain her relationship with the intelligence services."
Both Clinton and Trump are now eligible to receive classified briefings as their party’s nominees. One will begin receiving presidential intelligence briefings immediately after the results of the November 8 election are made official.
