10,000 TSA Employees Get Secret Clearance

Kate Auletta
Updated

From The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — The new head of the Transportation Security Administration say he's giving 10,000 of the agency's employees access to secret intelligence information to better enable them to detect threats and stop terrorists.

John Pistole (PIH'-stohl) told an aviation luncheon that he views TSA as a counterterrorism agency. He said his goal is to get the latest intelligence to all employees who have what he called an "action need" to "inform their judgment and decision-making."

Pistole is a former deputy FBI director who was confirmed by the Senate as TSA administrator in June. He said he begins each day with an intelligence briefing.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.