- Trump revokes clearances of 37 accused of politicising U.S. intelligence.
- Critics say the move is politically motivated and lacks due process.
- One affected person is linked to pro-Palestinian blacklisting database.
The United States government under President Donald Trump has withdrawn the security clearances of 37 individuals, accusing them of using intelligence information for political purposes.
EKO HOT BLOG reports that this was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who posted via X (formerly Twitter). She alleged that the affected individuals “breached public trust by politicising intelligence, leaking classified materials without approval, and seriously violating professional intelligence standards.”
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The statement did not go into details about the nature of the alleged violations or offer evidence to support the claims. Names of the individuals were also not made public consistent with U.S. policy, which rarely discloses such revocations.
Among those said to be affected is Shelby Pierson, a former election security official. In early 2020, Pierson reportedly briefed lawmakers that Russia preferred Trump to win the presidential election a revelation that reportedly angered Trump at the time.
One of the individuals is also said to be listed on the Canary Mission database, a controversial pro-Israel platform that has been linked to efforts to monitor and penalise pro-Palestinian activists.
Legal experts have criticised the move. Mark Zaid, a lawyer known for representing intelligence officers, described the action as potentially illegal and contrary to established laws. He said it represented a politically motivated attempt to punish perceived critics of the president.
“This kind of retaliation can have lasting damage on people’s careers,” Zaid said, also noting that those affected were not given prior notice, and that the memo was leaked to select media outlets first.
Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly vowed to remove individuals he sees as enemies within the government. Earlier this year, his administration dismissed thousands of federal workers, including prosecutors involved in past investigations into the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
