On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that he had revoked the security clearance of a number of his perceived political opponents, including Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden and all members of his family.
Why It Matters
Following his second inauguration on January 20, Trump has made a number of moves targeting his critics and in some cases their family members, stripping several of their federal security details.
Trump has said he was the victim of a political conspiracy that saw four criminal cases brought against him prior to his election, one of which resulted in his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the alleged payment of hush money to an adult film star. The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the verdict.
What To Know
On Saturday, the White House published a presidential memorandum in which Trump said he had “determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information.”
He then listed these names:
- Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- Former U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
- Former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco
- Attorney Mark Zaid
- Former U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen
- New York Attorney General Letitia James
- Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
- Attorney Andrew Weissmann
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
- Former House Republican Liz Cheney
- Former Vice President Kamala Harris
- Former House Republican Adam Kinzinger
- Former National Security Council official Fiona Hill
- Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman
- Former President Joe Biden and any other member of his family
Almost everyone on the list either served in the Biden administration, were involved in one of the many investigations into Trump’s conduct or had criticized him in the media.
For instance, Bragg led the prosecution in Trump’s falsifying business records case. Weissmann served on Robert Mueller’s 2017 special counsel team, which investigated links between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Eisen served as a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment trial, in which Vindman testified.
After Trump’s second inauguration, he ordered the removal of the security details tasked with protecting a number of people, primarily his critics or those who were unpopular with his MAGA base. These included former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who advised him during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump also blocked Biden’s access to daily intelligence briefings, replicating a move used against him in 2021.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said in the memo: “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.”
What Happens Next
Any access those on the list had to classified information is set to be revoked.
The post Full List of Names Donald Trump Has Stripped of Security Clearance appeared first on Newsweek.
