President Donald Trump has announced that he is revoking Joe Biden’s security clearance and stopping his daily intelligence briefings. He said this decision is in retaliation for Biden doing the same to him after the January 6 attacks.
Trump shared his decision in a post, saying: “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents. The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from “poor memory” and, even in his “prime,” could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
It’s customary for former U.S presidents to continue receiving some intelligence briefings after leaving office.
Biden stopped Trump’s briefings after Trump encouraged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and incited the January 6 attack on the Capitol. At the time, Biden said Trump’s “erratic” behaviour made him unfit to receive intelligence briefings.
When asked in an interview with CBS News what he feared if Trump continued to get the briefings, Biden said he didn’t want to “speculate out loud,” but he clearly stated that he didn’t think Trump should have access to such information.
“I just think there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings,” Biden said. “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”
Biden didn’t comment immediately on Trump’s move on Friday.
Trump’s action is the latest in a series of promises he made during his campaign. He has previously revoked security clearances from over 40 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter suggesting that the Hunter Biden laptop story might be a “Russian information operation.”
Trump has also removed security details from former government officials who criticised him, including his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci.
In a related action, Trump dismissed Colleen Shogan as the Archivist of the United States, a post held by Shogan until Friday, White House aide Sergio Gor announced on X. Trump had previously said he would replace the head of the National Archives and Records Administration after the agency informed the justice department about issues with his handling of classified documents. Shogan wasn’t the archivist when these issues came to light.
In 2022, federal agents searched Trump’s Florida home and took boxes of classified documents. He was charged with several felony counts, including illegal possession of classified materials and obstructing efforts to recover them. Trump pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. A judge later dismissed the charges, saying the special counsel who brought them had been illegally appointed. The justice department dropped its appeals after Trump was elected in November.
In his Friday post about Biden, Trump referred to the special counsel’s report from last year on his handling of classified materials. Trump said: “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime’, could not be trusted with sensitive information.”
Special counsel Robert Hur investigated Biden’s handling of classified records and found that while no criminal charges were warranted, the report was highly critical of how Biden managed sensitive government documents. It described Biden’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor,” and having “significant limitations.” The report noted that Biden could not recall important moments in his life, such as the death of his son Beau or when he served as vice-president.
