The president also revoked the security clearances for the entire family of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump on Friday revoked security clearances of more than 15 prominent political figures, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Aside from Harris and Clinton, Trump also revoked security clearances for former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and Biden’s entire family.
The list also includes former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, all of whom have been involved in legal cases against Trump.
Trump also revoked security clearances for former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger—both are Republicans and were part of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, breach.
Others named in the list are retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, former White House Russia expert Fiona Hill, former U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, and lawyer Mark Zaid.
In his memo, Trump directed heads of executive departments and agencies to stop allowing the named individuals access to classified information.
Trump’s order applies to classified briefings and any access to classified information that the named individuals may have had due to their previous tenure in Congress.
“I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals,” he stated.
When Biden took office in 2021, he revoked Trump’s access to intelligence briefings, citing the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach. Trump was later impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate.
Former presidents have traditionally been afforded courtesy access to classified information at the highest level, as well as daily intelligence briefings, which enables them to remain apprised of national security issues and provide the incumbent president with advice as requested.
Few former presidents have requested such briefings, though the late President George H.W. Bush—a former director of Central Intelligence during the Gerald R. Ford administration—was known to do so.
The former intelligence officials were accused of engaging in partisan politics by discrediting the reports ahead of the 2020 election, while the action against Bolton stemmed from his memoir, which the Trump administration said posed “a grave risk” of exposing classified material.
Arjun Singh, Melanie Sun, and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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