President Donald Trump has revoked security clearances from several left-wing lawmakers and officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among others. Hours after stripping President Biden of his security clearance and access to classified intelligence briefings, Trump turned his focus to one of Biden’s top aides, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken had circulated a misleading memo just weeks before the 2020 election, falsely claiming that the infamous Hunter Biden laptop was part of a “Russian disinformation operation.” A total of 51 former intelligence officers signed the letter, which was used to justify suppressing the story on social media, while mainstream media outlets cited it to dismiss the bombshell report as false. As a result, all signatories of the letter have had their security clearances revoked and lost access to secure U.S. federal buildings.
Blinken’s security clearances will also be revoked, following the same presidential directive that applied to Biden and the 51 former intelligence officers. “Bad guy. Take away his passes,” Trump remarked about Blinken in an interview with the New York Post. “This is to take away every right they have [revoking security clearances] including they can’t go into [federal] buildings,” the president added.
James and Bragg will also be joining the list of eight Democrat lawmakers and operatives who will lose any access to classified information and be barred from federal facilities as well. The president told The Post that they will be given “the exact same punishment” as Biden and the 51 intelligence officers for engaging in election interference and mishandling of classified information.
For Bragg and James—both of whom have been involved in controversial, politically motivated prosecutions against Trump—the move is largely seen as symbolic. It could obstruct their ability to perform their official duties by preventing them from entering federal courthouses, prisons, and federal agency offices. They will also be barred from accessing the U.S. Attorney’s offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, located in Manhattan and Brooklyn.