Maybe I'm missing something but what's the point of giving *any* former president sensitive intelligence briefings? It just seems like the risk in having that info floating around is greater than...whatever benefit it offers to a retired private citizen?

I get that it's a "professional courtesy" in case a former POTUS wants to counsel the current one. But if a sitting president needs advice, surely they could just reach out to their colleagues and brief them as needed?

I'd be curious to know how often former presidents proactively reached out to Obama or George W. Bush with advice based on recieving an intelligence briefing. It seems more common that when a (functional) POTUS is looking for counsel, he'll seek it out.