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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington on his way to New Jersey. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/dpa
Keystone
In a memorandum, US President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearances of his predecessor Joe Biden, his former Vice President Kamala Harris and other leading Democrats and political opponents. It states that he has determined that access to classified information for these individuals is "no longer in the national interest".
The memorandum mentions a total of 15 people by name, including former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trump's former opponent in his first presidential race, Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, all members of Biden's family are to have their security clearance revoked.
Trump instructed the heads of the relevant departments and agencies to revoke the security clearances and immediately withdraw access to classified information from the individuals named. In addition, they are to be denied "unescorted access to secure facilities of the United States government".
The move comes as no surprise. Trump had already announced at the beginning of February that he wanted to deny some political opponents access to confidential information.
In Biden's case, for example, this also means no longer receiving daily intelligence briefings. Trump justified the move in February by saying that Biden had also denied him access to certain national security information after he took office in 2021. At the time, Biden had justified this with Trump's "erratic behavior". Former presidents usually retain a certain level of security clearance even after leaving office.
22.03.2025, 07:37
