BRIDGEWATER: US President Donald Trump on Friday took away security clearances for former president Joe Biden, former vice president Kamala Harris, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and several other senior former White House and national security officials in latest move against his Democratic opponents.

The list of names, stripped of their authorisation to see state secrets, included Biden, his family members, and former vice-president and Trump presidential rival Kamala Harris. Former secretary of state and defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was on the list, along with Biden’s secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jacob Sullivan.

“I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information,” Trump said in a late Friday memorandum.

In the memorandum to agency heads and distributed by the White House communications office, Trump said the named officials should no longer be allowed access to classified material. “I hereby direct every executive department and agency head ... to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals,”

The decision means those on the list will not be able to see state secrets

Trump said. “I also direct all executive department and agency heads to revoke unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities from these individuals.”

Former US presidents and national security officials traditionally retain a security clearance as a courtesy, and some find it useful in seeking employment with private contractors. But Trump, who continues to falsely claim that Biden schemed to steal the 2020 election, which he lost, has remained furious with his predecessor and lashes out frequently.

Trump was himself investigated for breaching security rules during the period between his first and second term in office, by storing classified White House documents in his Mar-a-Lago resort. The investigation was wound up after Trump returned to office.

While the revocations may not have immediate impacts, it is another sign of the growing political rift in Washington as Trump seeks revenge on his perceived enemies.

The memorandum was issued hours after Trump arrived at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf property for the weekend.

Trump also targeted Republican former Representative Liz Cheney, a sharp Trump critic, former Biden White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on his National Security Council during his first term.

Hill, a British-born intelligence analyst, served under both Democrat and Republican administrations, including as an adviser in Trump’s White House. She is joined by former colleague Alexander Vindman, a Kyiv-born retired senior officer in the US Army who fell foul of Trump after expressing concerns about White House contacts with Russia.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025