President Trump has cancelled the security clearances of 37 past and present US officials, charging them with politicizing intelligence for partisan or personal purposes. The action, which was revealed in a memo released on social media, was signed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who stated the move had been ordered by President Donald Trump.
The list comprises a number of national security staff who worked during past Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The memo, however, did not offer proof to support the allegations or detail charges on specific officials.
Clearances provide access to classified government information, and most former officials keep them to counsel successors or for employment in the private sector, especially in defence and aerospace. It is not certain whether all 37 on the memo held active clearances at the time of the revocation.
Gabbard said Trump directed the move because the officials "abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence, unauthorized disclosure of classified intelligence, and/or committing willful egregious violaitons of tradecraft standards." She went on to say, "Being vested with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right.". Members of the Intelligence Community who violate their oath to the Constitution and prioritize their own interests over the interests of the American people have violated the sacred trust that they vowed to protect.
It is not the first time the Trump administration has rescinded security clearances for intelligence professionals. Previous targets were President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former legislators who participated in investigations of the 6 January Capitol riot.
Gabbard has most recently targeted intelligence officials during the Obama administration who determined Russia had interfered in the 2016 elections. Trump and Gabbard have labeled the intelligence community's finding as a "treasonous conspiracy" aimed at discrediting the former president's electoral win.
Democrats have accused the revocations as being politically driven. The White House's actions, they believe, are a means of diverting attention from unpopular policies and rumors surrounding the associations of Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The White House's actions were decried as "bizarre" and "ridiculous" by an Obama spokesman and described as a "weak attempt at distraction" from substantive issues facing the nation.
The most recent revocations of clearances have reignited controversy surrounding the politicization of intelligence and appropriate handling of classified material in the United States.
