WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has revoked security clearances for a number of prominent political figures, including his former Democratic election rivals Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, as well as other senior officials from past administrations.
According to a memorandum issued late on Friday, Trump stated that he had determined it was “no longer in the national interest” for these individuals to have access to classified information.
The revocations also extend to former President Joe Biden, whose security clearance was previously rescinded by Trump in February, and now includes “any other member” of the Biden family.
The list of those affected includes former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Republican lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and Fiona Hill, a former adviser on Russian affairs during Trump’s first term.
Other officials stripped of their clearances include National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid, legal scholars Norman Eisen and Andrew Weissmann, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.
Trump’s directive, issued just hours after his arrival at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club for the weekend, orders executive departments and agencies to “immediately rescind” access to classified information for the listed individuals and prohibit them from entering secure government facilities without an escort.
The move follows Trump’s earlier decision in January to revoke security clearances for at least 50 former intelligence officials who had signed a letter during the 2020 presidential campaign, suggesting that the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop bore the “classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
While former presidents and senior officials typically retain their security clearances as a courtesy, Trump’s decision is seen as part of his broader efforts to target political opponents.
The revocations also come in the wake of his termination of Secret Service protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden, the two adult children of Joe Biden.
