US President Donald Trump has removed security clearances from his former Democratic adversaries, Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, along with several other prominent ex-officials.
“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump’s memo read.
This follows Trump’s announcement in February when he said he was revoking security clearance for his predecessor, Joe Biden. He confirmed in his recent statement that he would strip the security clearance from “any other member” of the Biden family.
Typically, former presidents and high-ranking security officials retain their security clearance as a matter of protocol.
Included on the list of individuals who lost their security clearances are former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Republican representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, in addition to Fiona Hill, who served as a Russian affairs adviser during the first Trump administration.
Previously, Trump had revoked the security clearances of more than forty former intelligence officials, whom he accused of influencing the 2020 election in favour of Biden, without presenting any evidence.
In 2021, Biden—the sitting president at the time—restricted Trump’s access to intelligence briefings due to concerns about his “erratic behaviour.”
