President Donald Trump released a new memo on Friday revoking the security clearances of over a dozen people, including former President Joe Biden and his entire family, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton.
“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump wrote in a memo addressed to the heads of executive departments and agencies before naming those who would be restricted from receiving classified information. Trump’s new list features at least his three past presidential election rivals—Clinton, Biden, and Harris—along with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
No More Access to Classified Information
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“Any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family” will also be impacted by the memo. The list also includes former Biden administration officials Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Lisa Monaco, along with anti-Trump Republicans Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.
Others losing their security clearance include Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the 2019 impeachment that accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress; Fiona Hill, a former Trump administration official who testified about Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; and Mark Zaid, the attorney who represented the whistleblower in that impeachment case.
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Additionally, Andrew Weissmann, the lead prosecutor in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Trump, and Norman Eisen, special counsel to the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment process, will also have their access to classified information revoked.
“I hereby direct every executive department and agency head to take all additional action as necessary and consistent with existing law to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals and to immediately rescind their access to classified information,” Trump, 78, wrote.
Trump also ordered executive department and agency heads to “revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.”
Trump’s Revenge Game
Trump’s memo states that the people on the list will no longer have access to classified briefings, including the President’s Daily Brief, or any classified information obtained through their prior roles in Congress or the Intelligence Community.
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“In the event that any of the named individuals received a security clearance by virtue of their employment with a private entity, the United States Government entity that granted the security clearance should inform the private entity that these individuals’ ability to access classified information has been revoked,” the president wrote.
Last month, Trump told The New York Post that he planned to revoke the security clearances of several of his adversaries listed in Friday’s memo.
On March 10, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said that she had completed a review of security clearances as directed by Trump and had revoked those of Blinken, Sullivan, Monaco, Zaid, Eisen, James, Bragg, and Weissmann, as well as the 51 people who signed the Hunter Biden “disinformation” letter.
“The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden,” she added.
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Last month, Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that Biden had set the precedent by denying him access to intelligence briefings four years ago, citing concerns over his “erratic behavior.”
In February 2021, Biden, then 82, barred Trump from receiving intelligence briefings, telling CBS News that the former president should not have access to U.S. secrets due to his unpredictable behavior, which he said was unrelated to the January 6 Capitol riot.
Former presidents and other high-ranking officials typically retain access to classified information.
