File photo: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (Picture credit: AP)
The Trump administration has stripped security clearances from 37 current and former national security officials, escalating its campaign against intelligence professionals it accuses of undermining the president’s agenda.A memo issued by director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday alleged that those affected had engaged in the “politicisation or weaponisation of intelligence,” mishandled classified material, or failed to maintain professional standards. However, the document did not provide evidence to support the claims.The move cut across multiple agencies, with both senior and mid-level figures targeted. The list included Shelby Pierson, a senior election-threat analyst; Vinh X. Nguyen, an NSA data scientist specialising in artificial intelligence and quantum computing; and a senior CIA analyst currently serving undercover.Critics condemned the revocations as politically motivated. “These are unlawful and unconstitutional decisions that deviate from well-settled, decades-old laws and policies,” said national security lawyer Mark Zaid, as quoted by AP, whose own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration. He called it hypocritical to accuse others of politicising intelligence while engaging in such actions.Gabbard defended the decision on social media, writing: “Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right. Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath … have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold.” She confirmed the revocations were carried out under Trump’s direction.As per AP, the revocations form part of a broader push by the administration to revisit and discredit the 2017 intelligence assessment that concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election in Trump’s favour. Multiple investigations have upheld those findings, noting both cyber intrusions and social media operations linked to Moscow.Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticised the action as “a reckless abuse of the clearance process” and suggested it was also an attempt to distract from the administration’s refusal to release documents linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.The consequences for current officials are immediate, with clearances tied to their jobs. For former officials, the impact is less clear, though some could face difficulties in private-sector work that requires access to classified material.This is not the first time Trump has wielded clearance revocations as a political tool. He has previously stripped access from former President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and more than four dozen ex-officials who signed a 2020 letter questioning the Hunter Biden laptop story. Several members of President Biden’s former national security team were also on the latest list.For some in the intelligence community, the loss of key personnel such as Nguyen raises concerns about the United States’ technological edge. According to The New York Times, former colleagues warned his removal could set back NSA projects in areas such as data science and cyber operations.
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