In a late-night Friday memo, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to revoke security clearances for more than a dozen of his perceived political enemies, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and others.
Trump stated in the memo, "I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access 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."
The memo applies to classified briefings and any access the individuals might have had to classified information based on their previous government service.
This move marks the latest instance of Trump revoking security clearances from political rivals. In February, he said he was "immediately" revoking former President Joe Biden's security clearance and stopping his daily intelligence briefing. Trump has also used similar clearance rescissions to crack down on top law firms.
Friday's memo formalized the revocation of Biden's security clearance, along with several others who the Trump administration had previously said it removed clearances from. It also blocked the former president's family's access to classified information.
In addition to his Democratic rivals, Trump revoked clearances from two Republicans on the House committee that investigated 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 said she had revoked the security clearances of a number of the people named in Friday's memo, including top Biden officials, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, as well as two attorneys who brought legal cases against Trump: New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In another late-night memo, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the conduct of lawyers and law firms the administration considers to have filed frivolous lawsuits against the Trump administration or attempted to block immigration initiatives. This broadens the president's crackdown on the US legal community.
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