President Donald Trump has issued a memorandum revoking the security clearances of several prominent political figures from the Biden and Obama Administrations, including former President Joe Biden and his family, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Secretary of States Antony Blinken and Hillary Clinton.
The order directs all executive departments and agency heads to take necessary actions to revoke any active security clearances held by these individuals and to rescind their access to classified information. This includes denying unescorted access to secure U.S. government facilities and revoking the ability to receive classified briefings, such as the President’s Daily Brief.
President Trump said it is no longer in the national interest for these individuals to access classified information. In 2121, Biden blocked Trump from receiving intelligence briefings, after Biden took over the White House.
Traditionally, former presidents and senior officials retain access to certain classified information to provide advisory support. However, Biden’s actions were a deviation from the norm and Trump’s memorandum indicates he believes the people on the list are actual adversaries.
“Antony Blinken, Jacob Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Cheney, Kamala Harris, Adam Kinzinger, Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family. Therefore, 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. I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals,” the memorandum reads.
