Donald Trump has ordered security clearances from a range of his political opponents in Washington DC be revoked, including Joe Biden’s family, Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump has revoked security clearances for a slew of his political rivals, including Joe Biden’s entire family.
The president has removed clearances from his two opponents he defeated in the race for the White House – democrats Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris -as well as the man who beat him in 2020. In a move seen as Trump taking revenge on his enemies, former president Biden and his entire family have also lost the right, as well as former Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The order was made in a late memorandum issued yesterday afternoon.
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It reads: “I have determined it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information.”
Trump announced on social media last month he was provoking Joe Biden ’s clearance, after the ex president did the same in 2021. He wrote: “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME! ) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents.”
Former U.S. presidents have traditionally received intelligence briefings so they can advise incumbent presidents on national security and foreign policy. Trump also targeted a critic of the president, Republican former Representative Liz Cheney, former Biden White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on his National Security Council during his first term. Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer in Washington who represents whistleblowers, and Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican lawmaker who is a sharp Trump critic, were also among several others who had their security clearances revoked.
Biden had previously ended Trump’s intelligence briefings after Trump incited efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. At the time, Biden cited Trump’s “erratic” behavior as a reason to prevent him from receiving the intel briefings.
In his post, Trump referred to last year’s special counsel report into Biden’s handling of classified documents, stating, “The Hur Report revealed Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information.
“I will always protect our National Security – JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”