President Trump axed security clearances and revoked access to classified information for several political figures on Friday, including his election rivals Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris as well as former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Trump said in a late Friday memo that he “determined” it is no longer in the “national interest” for Clinton, Harris and Cheney, along with at least 12 other high-profile individuals have access to classified information.
“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 said. “I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.”
With the revocation of access, the former diplomats, lawmakers, and President Biden’s family members will not be privy to classified briefings, like the President’s Daily Brief, and will not have access to classified information.
The security clearances and bans on accessing classified information for former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, attorneys Mark Zaid, Norm Eisen and Andrew Weissmann, along with New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg were announced by Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this month.
On Friday, the president also added Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a vocal Trump critic, to the list. Kinzinger, alongside Cheney, played prominent roles in Congress’ investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Since taking office in January, Trump has sought to roll back the access to classified information as well as security protections for his political opponents.
In early February, he revoked Biden’s security clearance, saying “there is no need for him to have” it. He also terminated the security details for his former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom have faced assassination threats from Iran.
“There are people that we don’t respect, if there are people that we thought that were breaking the law, that came very close to it in previous years, we do it. And we’ve done it with some people,” Trump told journalists last month.
The president also said in the late Friday memo that if the several individuals mentioned in the memo were to get security clearance through private sector employment, the U.S. government entity that approved the authorization should “inform the private entity that these individuals’ ability to access classified information has been revoked.”
