President Trump has directed the removal of security clearances for a new set of adversaries.
Following his recent decision to strip Joe Biden of access to classified materials and federal facilities—stating “because I don’t trust him”—Trump now identifies his next major target: former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who was involved in the controversial “Dirty 51” letter from ex-intelligence officials just before the 2020 election.
This infamous letter falsely asserted that Hunter Biden’s laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Trump confirmed that Blinken’s security clearances would also be revoked, mirroring the actions taken against Biden and the 51 former intelligence officers last week, in an exclusive interview with The NY Post.
“Bad guy. Take away his passes,” Trump remarked about Blinken.
“This is to take away every right they have [revoking security clearances], including they can’t go into [federal] buildings,” he added.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are now also included in the list of Democrat adversaries whose access to classified information will be revoked, and entry into federal buildings will be prohibited.
The president made it clear that all those involved would face “exactly the same” consequences as Biden and the Dirty 51, as part of his administration’s commitment to holding government officials accountable for actions that he sees as interference in the election or mishandling of classified data.
Bragg prosecuted Trump last year in the high-profile “hush money” case, and James filed a civil fraud suit against the president over allegedly inflating his wealth when applying for loans.
Though the action is largely symbolic, it may have a practical effect on the New York officials, preventing them from carrying out their duties by barring entry to courthouses, prisons, and law enforcement facilities in Foley Square in lower Manhattan. These include the Thurgood Marshall and Daniel Patrick Moynihan courthouses, the Metropolitan Correctional Center, and the Jacob Javits Federal Building, home to the FBI’s New York field office.
Additionally, they will be barred from entering the U.S. Attorney’s offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, located in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
“It’s more an insult and a slap in the face than a real deterrent,” said Bob Costello, an attorney and former Manhattan federal prosecutor who testified as a defense witness in Trump’s hush-money trial.
Among other targets revealed by Trump to The NY Post is Jake Sullivan, Biden’s former National Security Advisor, who also served as Hillary Clinton’s chief foreign policy advisor during her 2016 presidential campaign and played a key role in promoting the Trump-Russia collusion narrative.
Also on Trump’s radar are Lisa Monaco, Biden’s Deputy Attorney General, who oversaw investigations against Trump and coordinated the DOJ’s response to the January 6th riot. She had previously worked as an aide to President Obama, where she helped facilitate the Russia investigation.
Additionally, Trump plans to revoke security clearances for Andrew Weissman, the lead prosecutor in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, who has been outspoken against Trump in his role as an MSNBC contributor; Mark Zaid, the attorney who represented Eric Ciaramella, the whistleblower in the 2019 impeachment trial; and Norm Eisen, who served as special counsel to the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment.
Tim Parlatore, a former Trump attorney, noted that the action is mostly symbolic and difficult to enforce, especially with regard to New York officials.
However, Parlatore acknowledged that Zaid’s legal practice could be significantly affected, as he markets himself as a national security lawyer.
“He’s a wacky partisan guy [who] tweeted after Trump was inaugurated that it was time for a coup. He makes his money during Republican [presidencies] by going against the administration,” Parlatore said.
Last week, Trump cut off Biden’s access to the daily intelligence briefings typically given to former presidents before stripping him of his security clearances, explaining that he doesn’t “trust” his predecessor with such sensitive information.
“I don’t trust him. He’s not worthy of trust … To safeguard national security,” Trump said.
Trump further clarified that his administration was not planning to investigate Biden, though he noted that Biden did not pardon himself when he pardoned his son Hunter and other family members.
“I wouldn’t do it specifically. If something comes up, he’s certainly prime time for investigation. … It’s not good what he did to our country. I mean, all of this work we’re doing now with getting [illegal aliens] out, finding murderers on the street. … all of this that we’re doing is because of him allowing people to come into our country,” Trump remarked.
{Matzav.com}