Who Are Philip Mudd, Paris Dennard? Security Clearances Debate Heats Up

After watching a debate Saturday between former CIA analyst Philip Mudd and conservative political strategist Paris Dennard, which aired on CNN, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to tease a possible revoking of the former’s security clearance.

During the debate, Dennard accused Mudd of scoring a higher payday after becoming a consultant due to his security clearance. Unable to bear the insult, Mudd snapped back at the GOP strategist, yelling, “We're done. We're done. GET OUT!"

Reacting to the debate, the president tweeted on Monday:

And, in reply, Mudd tweeted:

Also, in a comment last week, after Trump revoked ex-CIA official John Brennan’s security clearance, Mudd said, “The president can call us dogs, but he will never muzzle us. The thing we served for, one of them was the right to speak in a democratic society. I don’t care about security clearances. This is not about security clearances, this is about people being told they cannot speak in a democratic society where we have the freedom to speak," Raw Story reported.

After Trump’s tweet, both Mudd and Dennard’s names started trending online, as people grew curious and wanted to find out more about both the personalities.

The following are a few facts about Mudd, as per CNN’s profile on him:

• He began work in the CIA's Counterterrorist Center in 1992 and from there went onto serve as the Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia in the National Intelligence Council (1995-1998).
• He was assigned from the CIA to serve as the Director for Gulf Affairs on the White House National Security Council in 2001. Following the 9/11 attacks, he briefly left his position to help organize new government for Afghanistan as part of a small diplomatic team.
• In 2003, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center in 2003. He continued in that post for the next two years.
• Former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and current special counsel in the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Robert Mueller, made Mudd the deputy director of FBI's National Security Branch in 2005. He went onto become FBI's Senior Intelligence Adviser.

• Mudd finally resigned from governmental service in 2010.
• As a token of excellence achieved in the service of his country, Mudd received awards such as Director's Award; the George H.W. Bush Award for excellence in counterterrorism; the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal; the first-ever William Langer Award for excellence in analysis; and various other Exceptional Performance Awards.
• Mudd had condemned Trump’s performance at the press conference held at the end of his meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in July. "My question would be when do members of the president's inner circle start to say, 'Look, we have an overseas dilemma where you are portraying us, in terms of the American government, as worse than a tyrant, that is Vladimir Putin,” he said at the time, Washington Examiner reported.

And here are some facts about Dennard:

• Dennard worked in former President George W. Bush’s administration between 2005 and 2009. He worked in White House departments such as Political Affairs, Legislative Affairs and Public Liaison.
• His most notable work was as the White House director of Black Outreach where he was the liaison to the African-American community.
• He was also the primary point of contact for the families of the former residents and vice presidents invited to the State Funeral of Former President Gerald R. Ford.
• As the Associate Director for Coalitions at the Republican National Committee from 2009-2011, Dennard’s job was to travel across the country and establish the branding of various state parties and Republican leaders for the election campaign.
• After acting as his media surrogate in the 2016 election, he was appointed by Trump to serve as a commissioner for the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. He is also a member of the Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Advisory Board.
• At present, he serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.