45th and 47th U.S. President Donald Trump officially removes security clearance for Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton

Security credentials were revoked from a number of former officials and critics, as well as from Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton, who were previously defeated Democratic election rivals.

In February, Trump announced that he was revoked security clearance for his predecessor, Joe Biden. He also verified that decision by revoking the security clearance of “any other member” of the Biden family in his order.

Trump’s memorandum stated, “I have concluded that the following individuals are no longer in the national interest to have access to classified information.”

Security clearances are typically maintained by former US presidents and senior security officials as a gesture of goodwill.

Trump directed department and agency leaders to “rescind unescorted access to secure United States government facilities for these individuals.”

“This action encompasses, but is not restricted to, the receipt of classified briefings, such as the President’s Daily Brief, and access to classified information held by any member of the intelligence community by virtue of the named individuals’ previous tenure in the Congress,” the order stated.

The loss of access to classified material and spaces will have a more symbolic impact on several named figures.

It may restrict access to certain government buildings or secure facilities, or it may restrict the materials they are permitted to examine.

Nevertheless, the lawyers and prosecutors that Trump has appointed may encounter obstacles in obtaining or evaluating information related to their cases or clients.

Top officials from the Biden administration, as well as prominent political critics and attorneys who have challenged Trump or his allies in court, are the primary targets of Trump’s revocations.

Biden’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, national security advisor Jake Sullivan, and deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, all lost their clearances.

Trump also pursued two of his own former officials from his first term: Alexander Vindman and Fiona Hill, who provided testimony during his initial impeachment trial, which commenced in 2019.

Additionally, Trump denied access to former Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who were prominent Republican critics.

They were the sole two Republican lawmakers who participated in a US House inquiry into Trump’s involvement in the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021.

Both also voted to charge Trump in his second impeachment, which was initiated by a Democratic-led US House of Representatives following the disturbance. The Senate acquitted Trump of the charge of inciting the violence on January 6.

In his most recent decision regarding security access, Trump has also targeted his most prominent legal opponents. His order revoked authorisation for Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who filed numerous lawsuits against Trump and his businesses.

A judge found Trump liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties in a civil fraud lawsuit that concluded in 2024. The decision is being appealed by Trump.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who successfully prosecuted and won Trump’s criminal hush money case last year, also lost his clearance.

Trump’s legal targets exceeded elected prosecutors. He withdrew security clearance for Norm Eisen, an attorney who is currently spearheading multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce.

Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor who participated in an investigation of Trump during his first term and subsequently provided media commentary regarding the hush money trial, also lost his clearance.

Mark Zaid, a prominent whistleblower attorney in Washington, had his security clearance revoked by the administration, according to prior media reports.

He was included in the list of individuals who would be denied access in the order issued on Friday.

Nevertheless, Mr. Zaid informed the BBC that “I have yet to receive any formal notification, despite being informed three times that my clearance has been revoked.”

He contended that the loss of his security clearance would have a detrimental impact on “the federal employees, including Trump supporters, who depend on me to handle cases that few other lawyers could.”

In social media statements, numerous individuals who were selected by Trump disparaged his order.

“I am indifferent to the comments made by Donald Trump regarding a security clearance that has not been activated in five years,” Mr. Vindman wrote on X.

Eisen stated on X that Trump’s order “just makes me file even more lawsuits!” as a result of being targeted.

Previously, Trump had revoked the security clearances of over forty former intelligence officials whom he accused of interfering in the 2020 election in favour of Joe Biden. He did not provide any evidence to support these assertions.

Biden’s security access was revoked by Trump in February. In a social media post, Trump stated that Biden “established this precedent in 2021 by instructing the Intelligence Community (IC) to prevent the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents.”

In 2021, Biden, who was the president at the time, denied his defeated opponent, Trump, access to intelligence briefings, citing his “erratic behaviour.”

Biden was found to have unlawfully retained classified documents from his tenure as vice president in a 2024 Justice Department special counsel report. Biden had cooperated with federal investigators and returned the documents that had been discovered, according to the report.

In 2023, Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith announced that Trump had been indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents and obstructing their return to the government after his first term in office.

President Trump entered a not guilty plea and the case was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida in July 2024. The case was officially dismissed by Smith in December of that year, following Trump’s reelection.