US President Donald Trump (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance and ended the daily intelligence briefings in a tit-for-tat move.
The US President announced his decision in a social media post, saying: “There is no need for to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking ’s security clearances, and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.”
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said that Biden “set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community to stop the 45th President of the United States from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents”.
He added that Biden “could not be trusted with sensitive information”, citing a justice department inquiry into the Democrat’s storage of classified files, which concluded that Biden had a poor memory.
But last night Democrats criticised the move, arguing that Biden had taken the decision over ‘serious security concerns” , including his alleged role in inciting the January 6 attacks on the Capitol and his retention of thousands of official documents.
This contrasts with the recent decision, they say, which is petulant and borne of revenge.
“This is a tit-for-tat situation, but there’s a difference,” said Sharon Manetta, global press secretary for Democrat Abroad
“Biden felt that Trump was a genuine security risk. Apart from anything else, he was entertaining people from various Asian countries at his Mar-a-Lago estate when classified documents were being stored in the shower rooms.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate (Image: Getty Images)
US Department of Justice phot shows files on Trump’s carpet (Image: US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/AFP via)
Former US President Joe Biden has lost is security clearance (Image: Getty Images)
Ms Manetta expressed concern over an attempt to control history following Trump’s decision to fire the head of the national archives, Colleen Shogan
The National Archives played a key role in the criminal case against Trump, alerting the Justice Department in 2022 that the 45rd US President had potentially mishandled classified documents after failing to return records.
“It seems Trump is taking over the National Archives, and the obvious conclusion is that he wants to get rid of all the documents that related to his refusing to turn over official documents in 2020 and 2021,” said Ms Manetta.
Dozens of of FBI agents descended Trump’s home Palm Beach residence in August 2022 over fears that the former US President was violating the Espionage Act regarding unauthorised retention of national defence information and destroying or concealing records “with the intent to impede obstruct or influence” federal government activity,
More than 13,000 documents were seized, including 337 which were classified.
“Trump talks about the raid on Mar a Lago, but that followed 15 months of letters and phone calls requesting him to turn those documents over,” she added.
“He is his own worst emery. Had he followed the example of his own Vice President Mike Pence and returned the documents over sooner, none of this would have happened. “
In 2021, Biden stopped Trump from receiving classified intelligence briefings, the first time an ex-president had ever been denied the courtesy,
He justified the move by saying Trump could not be trusted because of his “erratic behaviour”, even before the 2021 US Capitol riot, which Democrats accused Trump of inciting in the last days of his first term.
“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing?” Biden said at the time. “What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?”