Mayor Bill de Blasio does not have security clearance to get classified information from the feds — unlike his two predecessors — and he has never even bothered to apply for it, The Post has learned.
Hizzoner would have to hope for a special waiver in an emergency situation such as an attack on the city, while Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has the clearance and would automatically receive intelligence from the feds, the sources said.
“It makes sense to get it because it’s more cumbersome to get information without it,” a source said.
The disturbing revelation comes just days before the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
A law enforcement source said Tuesday that if de Blasio does apply for clearance, he will have to endure an arduous vetting process that would include questions about his 1991 trip to Communist Cuba and support of the Marxist Sandinista regime during his visit to Nicaragua in the 1980s.
“He would automatically be questioned about his visit to Cuba and his contacts with the Sandinistas. Maybe he didn’t apply [for clearance] because he doesn’t want to go through that,” the source said.
Rudy Giuliani already had clearance as US attorney for New York before he became mayor. And Michael Bloomberg applied for and was granted clearance early in his administration.
The lack of clearance could waste precious time in the event of an emergency.
“[He] would have to jump through hoops” to get more detailed classified information, a source said.
Still, the feds would not withhold vital security information from City Hall, said another source.
“As mayor, de Blasio would be told about a specific threat and possible attack. They would grant a waiver for that specific threat. He would be told,” the source said.
De Blasio spokesman Phil Walzak, who previously worked for the US Department of Homeland Security, said City Hall doesn’t comment on security matters.
But “New Yorkers can rest assured there are no meaningful barriers between the mayor and any critical intelligence information regarding the safety and security of New York City,” he said.
Even if de Blasio does apply for the clearance, there’s no assurance that his position as mayor would guarantee approval.
Portland, Ore., Mayor Charlie Hales, who also serves as that city’s police commissioner, applied for security clearance but was turned down for unexplained reasons, The Oregonian newspaper reported in March.
Since 9/11, Islamic terrorists have hatched several plots to again attack New York City.
In 2009, Afghan-born Najibullah Zazi planned a suicide attack on the city’s subway system, but the plot was foiled by the FBI and he was arrested.