A government employee or elected official with clearance do not have a right to hide being blackmailed
If he wanted to pay the hush money.. quit the government, surrender your clearance....and become a private citizen
they he can pay all the hush money out he pleases and I'll support him in his right to do so with no one sticking their nose into it
Anybody that has dealt with clearances and working for the government knows their number one concern is your finances they do not want to see you in a position to be compromised
They do not want to see you being able to be blackmailed .
you want those positions of power and access to security information you give up certain privileges of privacy
give up your positions of power and you can get back your right and privileges of privacy..eventually....because you still hold that knowledge after you leave ..
same reason that Hillary Clinton cannot have her own private email server as Secretary of State
if she wants to be a private citizen she can have her own damn private email server.
quit looking at this as he was Joe Blow private citizen... it’s not the case.
I gave up a chance for job with a top security clearance out in that airbase in Nevada desert that does not exist.....
And I did not take the opportunity in part because I wanted to retain my rights as a private citizen to do things like even post on this freaking board
“A government employee or elected official with clearance do not have a right to hide being blackmailed”
Forget, for a minute, that he was a government official being blackmailed (since they didn’t charge him with a crime related to that). Would he have a right to hide legitimate, legal financial transactions from government scrutiny?