United States President, Donald Trump, has revoked the security clearances of his former Democratic election opponents, Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, alongside a number of other top former officials.
The announcement, released through a presidential memorandum, follows Trump’s February declaration that he was stripping security clearance from his predecessor, Joe Biden. The president reaffirmed that decision in the latest statement and extended the measure to include “any other member” of the Biden family.
“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump’s memorandum read.
Traditionally, former presidents and senior security officials retain their security clearance as a courtesy, a practice Trump has now upended with a sweeping move affecting both Democrats and Republicans.
Among those affected are former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Republican former lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and Fiona Hill, who served as a Russian affairs adviser during Trump’s first term.
Other names on the list include Jake Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann and Alexander Vindman.
Trump had previously revoked the clearances of over 40 former intelligence officials, accusing them of interfering in the 2020 election to favour Biden.
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