President Trump revoked the security clearances for a slew of top Democrats and other political opponents including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In a memo released late Friday, Mr. Trump said he was revoking the clearances for at least 15 people who have either acted against him or heavily criticized him. Mr. Trump said it is “no longer in the national interest” for the individuals to have security clearances.
The list of political opponents and Biden-era officials whose security clearances were stripped include Mr. Biden and his entire family, Ms. Harris, Ms. Clinton, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan, former Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom prosecuted criminal cases against Mr. Trump.
Others who lost their security clearances include former Biden-era Justice Department official Lisa Monaco, attorneys Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen, Fiona Hill and Alexander Vindman, who both served as diplomats in the first Trump administration and played a role in his first impeachment trial in 2019.
In addition to having their security clearances revoked, the individuals listed in Mr. Trump’s memorandum had their “unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities” rescinded.
Several people named in Mr. Trump’s memorandum pushed back on social media.
Mr. Eisen said it was “like the third time he’s announced he’s revoking my security clearance.”
“Who does he think I am, a big law firm or a billionaire who’s gonna back down? It just makes me file even more lawsuits!” he wrote on X.
Mr. Kinzinger said he retired from the military a year ago and no longer has a security clearance.
“I don’t even have a security clearance, dumbass. I’m sorry I’m living rent-free in your head, Donald, but you got this wrong,” he said in a video posted on X.
Mr. Zaid also noted that it was the “third time” Mr. Trump revoked his security clearance.
The move blocks the figures mentioned in the directive from accessing classified documents and entering government buildings, but the revocation is largely symbolic.
Mr. Trump had announced last month his intention to revoke Mr. Biden’s security clearance and earlier this month National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard announced she had rescinded access for Mr. Blinken, Ms. James and others, per the president’s order.
There is some precedent for revoking Mr. Biden’s security clearance. After Mr. Trump left office in 2021, Mr. Biden banned him from receiving the intelligence briefings, saying that Mr. Trump was a security risk because of his “erratic behavior” leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Former presidents do not have formal security clearances but have been allowed to access classified and highly sensitive information. It is provided as a courtesy for former presidents and for moments when a sitting president reaches out to their predecessors for advice. However, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Trump would reach out to Mr. Biden for advice.
Currently, former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all receive daily intelligence briefings.
Since returning to the White House last month, Mr. Trump revoked the security clearances of roughly 50 former intelligence officials. In an executive order issued hours after his inauguration, Mr. Trump stripped 49 former senior officials of security clearances for signing a letter in 2020 claiming the scandalous data on Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
Mr. Trump said in the order that the letter was “misleading and inappropriate political coordination” with Mr. Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump announced he was pulling Secret Service protections for Mr. Biden’s children Hunter and Ashley, “effective immediately.”
