President Donald Trump has issued a memo revoking the security clearances of several prominent political figures, including former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton.
The memo, released on Friday, declared that it was “no longer in the national interest” for these individuals to have access to classified information. The directive was addressed to the heads of various executive departments and agencies.
Among those affected are Biden’s entire family and prominent legal figures such as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump’s memo further specifies that “any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family” will also have their security clearances revoked.
Former Biden administration officials, including Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Lisa Monaco, have also been stripped of access to classified information. Notably, Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, both anti-Trump Republicans, are included on the list.
Several individuals tied to Trump’s 2019 impeachment proceedings are also impacted. These include Alexander Vindman, a key witness in Trump’s first impeachment; Fiona Hill, a former Trump administration official who testified during the inquiry; Mark Zaid, the attorney for the whistleblower involved in that impeachment; Andrew Weissman, the lead prosecutor in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation; and Norman Eisen, who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s impeachment.
Trump’s memo instructed executive department heads to revoke the listed individuals’ active security clearances and their unescorted access to secure US government facilities.
The memo also bans the affected individuals from receiving classified briefings, including the President’s Daily Brief. Additionally, if any individuals on the list hold security clearances through private employers, Trump ordered that those entities be informed that their access has been revoked.
This move follows an announcement by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on March 10, confirming that she had completed a security clearance review initiated by Trump.
Gabbard confirmed the revocation of security clearances for Blinken, Sullivan, Monaco, Zaid, Eisen, James, Bragg, and Weissman. She also confirmed that the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden’ disinformation’ letter were included in the action.
Gabbard further revealed that Biden is no longer receiving the President’s Daily Brief, a customary practice for former presidents.
Trump’s decision comes after Biden had previously blocked Trump from receiving intelligence briefings in February 2021, citing concerns about Trump’s “erratic behaviour” following the January 6 Capitol riot. At the time, Biden argued that Trump’s access to classified information posed a risk, saying, “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?“
In a separate move, Trump signed executive orders stripping law firms Perkins Coie and Paul Weiss of access to security clearances.
Trump cited Perkins Coie’s role in commissioning the controversial Steele Dossier and Mark Pomerantz’s involvement in Bragg’s hush money case against Trump as the reason for the action.
Perkins Coie has since filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s directive, while Paul Weiss agreed with the Trump administration to have the order rescinded.
