Trump Revokes Security Clearances for Political Opponents, Including Harris and Clinton

UJ
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In a memo issued late Friday, President Donald Trump instructed federal agencies to annul the security clearances of more than a dozen individuals he views as political adversaries, which notably includes former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I have concluded that it is not in the national interest for the following individuals to possess access to classified information,” Trump stated in the memo. “I hereby instruct every executive department and agency leader to take all necessary actions consistent with existing law to revoke any active security clearances held by the mentioned individuals and to immediately terminate their access to classified information.”

This memo encompasses classified briefings as well as any access the individuals could have had to classified information due to their former roles in Congress.

This action represents another instance of Trump rescinding security clearances from political rivals, having previously declared in February that he was “immediately” revoking former President Joe Biden’s security clearance and halting his daily intelligence briefing, as well as using similar measures against top law firms.

The memo formalizes the cancellation of Biden’s security clearance along with several others previously mentioned by the Trump administration, effectively blocking the former president’s family from accessing classified information—if they had any such access.

Beyond his Democratic challengers from the 2016 and 2024 elections, Trump also withdrew clearances from two Republicans on the House committee that probed his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection: former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed that following Trump’s directive, she had revoked the security clearances of several individuals listed in Friday’s memo, including key Biden officials like former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, along with two attorneys who have engaged in legal actions against Trump: New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

In another memo issued late Friday, Trump revisited previous grievances against legal professionals who have opposed him, pledging to take punitive measures against lawyers and law firms by rescinding their security clearances and terminating federal contracts they hold.

He instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the actions of lawyers and law firms that the administration regards as having filed frivolous lawsuits against it or having tried to obstruct immigration policies, expanding the president’s crackdown on the US legal community.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Contributions to this report were made by UJ’s Clay Voytek and Evan Perez.