The executive order also targets Hillary Clinton and Antony Blinken, former state secretaries, and some Republicans.
US President Donald Trump has revoked security clearance for his predecessor, Joe Biden, targeting former vice president Kamala Harris and several senior former White House and national security authorities.
“I hereby direct all enforcement departments and heads of agents… to cancel the aggressive security clearance held by the aforementioned individuals,” Trump said in a memorandum on Friday.
Trump’s latest executive action is seen as part of a pattern of retaliation, targeting political opponents, including Biden and other former White House officials.
Besides Biden and Harris, the list of names stripped of permission to view the state’s secrets included Biden’s family along with former Secretary of State and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and the presidential candidate, was also on the list.
In a memorandum sent to the Agency Head and distributed by the White House Communications Office, Trump said nominated officials should no longer be granted access to classified material.
“I have also directed all enforcement departments and agents to revoke non-detachable access to protect US government facilities from these individuals.”
Trump’s feud
Trump, who continues to claim that Biden planned to steal the 2020 election, is furious with his predecessor, and frequently goes wild.
In 2021, Biden revoked Trump’s security clearance, the former president.
Trump was investigated for violating security rules during his first and second term during his inauguration by keeping White House documents classified as his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The investigation was concluded after Trump took office.
Many of the individuals on Trump’s list were well-known political appointees of his Democratic predecessor, but former Republican lawmaker and Trump critic Liz Cheney have also been nominated.
Fiona Hill, a British-born intelligence news analyst who served under both Democrat and Republican administrations, including Trump’s White House adviser, is also targeted.
She was joined by former colleague Alexander Vindman, a senior U.S. Army officer born in Kiev, who fell to Trump’s foul after expressing concern about White House contact with Russia.
Mark Zaid, a Washington national security lawyer representing whistleblowers, and Adam Kintzinger, a former Republican lawmaker who is an acute Trump critic, were also included on the list.
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