President Trump’s intelligence director is revoking the security clearances of more than three dozen former and current officials on claims they “abused the public trust” by manipulating or politicizing intelligence.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said some officials leaked classified information without authorization.
“Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right,” Ms. Gabbard posted Tuesday on X. “Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.”
The list, detailed in a memo by Ms. Gabbard, included an assortment of former officials from the Biden administration and a handful of current officials who will no longer be able to work at the National Security Agency and intelligence agencies.
“Any contracts or employment with the U.S. government by these 37 individuals is hereby terminated,” Ms. Gabbard wrote in her memo. Any credentials held by these individuals must be surrendered to the appropriate security officers.”
Ms. Gabbard’s move is part of aggressive efforts to root out so-called “deep state” officials that might not deliver on Mr. Trump’s agenda.
More specifically, it coincides with renewed scrutiny of the “Russiagate” episode in which Democrats and other Trump opponents claimed the president’s 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow.
A report from special counsel Robert Mueller found no criminal conspiracy between the campaign and Russian actors.
Intelligence officials have broadly concluded the Russians meddled in the 2016 contest, however, including a hacking and leaking operation that targeted Democratic officials.
Mr. Trump takes umbrage at the idea that Russians helped him win the presidency, and Ms. Gabbard is renewing efforts to examine how the Russian-collusion narrative took hold.
Mr. Trump and his team have suggested that former President Barack Obama and his top officials engaged in “treason” after the 2016 election by using the Russia narrative to undermine Mr. Trump’s first term.
The current administration said those officials might face criminal action as part of their probe, though they have not tried to bring charges as of yet.
An Obama spokesman said the “bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
Democrats say Mr. Trump is dredging up Russiagate to distract from issues like the “Epstein files,” a supposed set of government-held records related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the underage sex trafficker who died in prison in 2019.
Yet the Trump administration said there are serious concerns about how officials handled classified information — and whether they selectively leaked it to harm Mr. Trump.
“Our Intelligence Community must be committed to upholding the values and principles enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and maintain a laser-like focus on our mission of ensuring the safety, security and freedom of the American people,” Ms. Gabbard wrote.
Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer who sued over the Trump administration’s revocation of his own clearance, condemned Ms. Gabbard’s move on social media.
“Pure politicization of security clearance process,” Mr. Zaid posted on X. “These are unlawful decisions that deviate from decades of precedent.”
