Donald Trump revokes security clearances for Biden, Harris, Blinken, others

Trump said it was "no longer in the national interest" for them to continue to have access to classified information

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By Janine Phakdeetham

 

US President Donald Trump revoked security clearances for former President Joe Biden and some key members of his administration, saying it is “no longer in the national interest” for them to continue to have access to classified information. 

Those losing access include former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, according to a memorandum from the White House. Hillary Clinton also had hers revoked.

 

Trump also directed “all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.”

 

The rescinded access include the receipt of classified briefings such as the President’s Daily Brief, and access to classified information held by “any member of the Intelligence Community by virtue of the named individuals’ previous tenure in the Congress,” according to the memo.

 

Other names listed in the memo include:

• former Representatives Elizabeth Cheney and Adam Kinzinger
• New York Attorney General Letitia James
• New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg
• Alexander Vindman, a former national security official who played a key role in Trump’s first impeachment
• Former US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco
• Fiona Hill, senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council during Trump’s first administration
• Andrew Weissmann, one of the top prosecutors who aided former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged coordination with Russian officials
• Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who has represented hundreds of cases involving intelligence officers, federal employees and whistleblowers
• Norman Eisen, a former Obama administration official who represented a group of workers who helped investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol
• “Any other member” of Biden’s family