Former President Donald Trump has announced that he will deny his predecessor, Joe Biden, access to classified information and intelligence briefings, marking a striking act of political
retribution.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared that he was “immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.” The move mirrors a decision Biden made in 2021 when he instructed intelligence officials to withhold briefings from Trump, citing concerns over his “erratic behavior” following his 2020 election defeat.
Despite the rhetoric, U.S. presidents do not hold formal security clearances. However, they are often granted courtesy briefings post-presidency, particularly when traveling abroad or engaging in diplomatic discussions.
It remains unclear whether Biden has requested or received any such briefings since leaving office last month.
Trump linked his decision to former Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents from his tenure as a senator and vice president. The former president misrepresented Hur’s findings, claiming that the prosecutor had determined Biden suffered from “poor memory” and could not be trusted with sensitive information.
In reality, Hur’s report explained that Biden’s memory lapses could have influenced a jury’s decision, making prosecution for the mishandling of classified documents unlikely. This contrasts with Trump’s own legal troubles, as he faced charges of willfully retaining national defense information, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice after classified materials were recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.
Despite his ongoing legal challenges, Trump, now back in office, asserted his commitment to national security, ending his statement with his signature slogan: “JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment on Trump’s assertion, noting that the former president never held a formal security clearance to revoke in the first place. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.