It is clear President Donald Trump's decision to revoke former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance was a "payback" move, Bill O'Reilly told Newsmax TV.
O'Reilly was on "The Wayne Allyn Root Show" Wednesday and reacted to the Brennan news.
"It's payback to Brennan," O'Reilly said. "It's petty. I probably would do the same thing. Brennan goes on CNN night after night and just pounds Trump into pudding. So, why should he have any privileges with the federal government?
"Trump says this is the way I can punish Brennan, so I'm gonna do it. And he does it."
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O'Reilly took the argument further, saying the majority of Americans do not even know who Brennan is and, therefore, they do not care about the story anyway.
When Root noted Brennan might have played an integral role in the early days of the Russia investigation that is probing whether the Trump campaign had an improper relationship with the Russians, O'Reilly said things could get ugly if Brennan is found to have done something wrong himself.
"If it turns out that the FBI was being led around by Brennan, then you're right – then all hell will break loose," said O'Reilly, adding an upcoming report from the Department of Justice inspector general will shed some light on how the Russia investigation began in 2016.
"Brennan is certainly not a friend of Donald Trump, and therefore he must be taken with skepticism," O'Reilly said. "And we'll see what the IG report says."
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