Trump revokes security clearance of Biden officials in sweeping vendetta

US President Donald Trump has ordered revocation of security clearances for dozens of officials, including several senior figures, from the country’s former administration of Joe Biden in a sweeping move that has reignited debate over potential political purge.

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced on Monday that she had effected the revocations following relevant executive orders issued by Trump.

Among those affected are former secretary of state Antony Blinken, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and former deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco, who oversaw the prosecution of Trump's supporters, who had triggered a Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

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In addition, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, both of whom led investigations into Trump’s legal and business dealings, have had their clearances revoked.

Gabbard also confirmed that Biden would no longer receive the President’s Daily Brief, a highly classified intelligence report typically extended to past presidents. Biden himself had previously denied Trump access to the briefings in 2021.

In a statement on X, she wrote that her actions aligned with Trump’s broader agenda to “restore integrity” in intelligence agencies by removing individuals who “used national security for partisan gain.”

This includes revocation of clearances for 51 former intelligence officials who, in 2020, signed a letter dismissing reports about Biden’s son, Hunter’s laptop as “Russian disinformation.”

The matter concerns an alleged 2020 incident involving a laptop that reportedly belonged to Hunter Biden, which had been left by a person identifying as Hunter at a Delaware computer shop. Three weeks before the 2020 presidential election that led to Biden’s victory against Trump, The New York Post published a story that presented emails from the laptop, alleging they showed corruption by Biden during his previous tenure.

Trump had pledged on his first day in office to strip the 51-strong officials of classified access.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from Trump’s opponents, who argue that he is weaponizing security clearances to punish political adversaries.

The controversy echoes past concerns about Trump’s handling of security clearances during his previous term as US president that was cut short by Biden.

In 2019, a White House whistleblower accused the Trump administration of improperly granting security clearances to at least 25 individuals, despite significant red flags.

The whistleblower testified before Congress that the process had been overridden by political appointees, raising concerns about the integrity of national security vetting.

Trump’s allies have, however, defended the security clearance revocations as a necessary step towards depoliticizing intelligence agencies.

The developments pointing to significant mismatch among various US presidents’ agendas come while successive American administrations have prided themselves on determining security clearances, which allows access to the country’s allegedly most sensitive information, based on “professional qualifications” and “national security concerns,” not political affiliations.

The revocations come as part of a broader set of personnel policies by the current administration that has similarly upended Washington.

In February, reports emerged that thousands of federal employees had been dismissed as part of an overwhelming government restructuring process led by Trump and billionaire and ally Elon Musk, who was tapped to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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That effort aimed to purge individuals deemed disloyal to Trump’s political agenda.

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