Donald Trump has stripped security clearances from several leading Democrats including former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The measure comes as the president continues his crackdown on his most vocal opponents.
Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and attorneys Andrew Weissmann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen are also among those to have their clearance revoked, the New York Post reports.
The action was described as ‘largely symbolic’ by former Trump attorney Tim Parlatore.
However, those targeted may be unable to enter federal buildings including courthouses, prisons and law enforcement facilities, seriously hampering their ability to carry out their official duties.
It comes a day after Trump revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance and his access to daily presidential briefs.
‘There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.
He added that the precedent for his behavior was set by the former president when Biden blocked the intelligence community from allowing him to access national security intel.
Donald Trump has stripped security clearances from several leading Democrats as part of his crackdown on his critics
Those who have been iced out by the president may be unsurprised by the action given their outspoken criticism of him and his own pledges to target his antagonists.
Blinken is a ‘bad guy’ Trump told the Post, stating that he would ‘take away his passes’.
The former US Secretary of State orchestrated the infamous ‘Dirty 51’ letter released on the eve of the 2020 election, which falsely claimed that the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
Trump also has a highly contentious relationship with James linked to the civil fraud case she brought against him last year which saw him ordered to pay more than $450 million in total.
More recently she has joined lawsuits challenging the president’s efforts to end birthright citizenship and freeze federal grant programs.
Meanwhile Bragg was behind the ‘hush money’ case brought against Trump over payments he made to adult entertainer Stormy Daniels.
Former Secretary of State Antony Blinken has had his passes revoked as part of the blitz
The president said that Bragg and James will be given ‘exactly the same’ punishment as Biden.
His other targets include Sullivan who was chief foreign policy adviser to Hillary Clinton during her unsuccessful 2016 election.
Monaco has been singled out due to her role in overseeing the DOJ response to the January 6 insurrection.
Weissman finds himself in the crosshairs over his position as lead prosecutor in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation over Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The lawyer also regularly condemns the president during segments on liberal MSNBC.
