Trump revokes security clearances of another group of political, legal foes

President Donald Trump's first weeks in office have been full of decisive actions, many of which have rattled official Washington for their seemingly unprecedented nature.

Building on his shock-and-awe strategy, Trump on Friday announced the revocation of the security clearances previously enjoyed by a host of political enemies and legal adversaries, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, dubbed a “bad guy” by the president, as the New York Post reports.

Trump pulls clearances

The latest group of high-profile figures who have lost their security clearances at Trump's hand is a veritable who's-who of individuals who have openly opposed -- and in some cases, prosecuted -- the president in recent years.

The point of the move, according to Trump, is a straightforward one, noting, “This is to take away every right they have including they can't go into [federal] buildings.”

While the decision is seen by many as mainly ceremonial when it comes to folks like James and Bragg, it could hinder their ability to perform their jobs, in that they will be unable to enter courthouses, prisons, and other key law enforcement facilities in lower Manhattan or in the U.S. Attorney's offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Also hit by Trump's revocation order is Blinken as well as former Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and former Biden Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, said to have played a major role in the lawfare campaign against Trump, the Russia hoax, and Jan. 6 prosecutions.

Other legal eagles who have seen their clearances pulled include Robert Muller Russiagate probe alum Andrew Weissman, and D.C. attorney Mark Zaid, who has represented numerous government officials over the years, including the whistleblower who helped form the basis of Trump's 2019 impeachment.

On a revocation roll

The most recent round of revocations comes after Trump had already yanked security clearances of 51 former national security officials who were also signatories to a 2020 letter claiming that Hunter Biden's laptop was likely a “Russian information operation,” a claim that was later thoroughly debunked.

Notable names on that list included former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton, with whom Trump has had a long and public feud.

Going even further, the president also announced on Friday his decision to pull Biden's security clearances and end his access to intelligence briefings, a move to which Trump was subjected after he left office in 2021, despite the ongoing tradition of extending the courtesy, as the Associated Press notes.

In justifying his decision regarding Biden, Trump referenced a report from then-special counsel Robert Hur, who characterized the former president as someone with a “poor memory,” and he added that his predecessor in office, “even in his 'prime,' could not be trusted with sensitive information,” and that is an assessment with which millions agree.