Trump Cancels Security Clearances for 51 Former Intelligence Officials Who Endorsed Hunter Biden Laptop Letter, Alongside John Bolton
An executive order states that the signatories “intentionally weaponized” the credibility of the intelligence community to influence the political landscape.
On Monday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order rescinding the security clearances of 51 former U.S. intelligence officials who endorsed a letter that undermined credible reports concerning emails discovered on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
This letter was published mere weeks before the 2020 presidential election, during which Hunter Biden’s father, then-candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, was vying for office. The signatories claimed that a news report regarding emails allegedly recovered from a laptop Hunter Biden left at a Delaware repair shop was false and part of a “Russian disinformation campaign.”
The 51 intelligence officials impacted include former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Jr., former CIA Acting Director Michael J. Morell, the former CIA director John Brennan, and former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Two of these individuals have since passed away.
The order further accused these officials of partisan political involvement and directed the director of national intelligence to compile a report within 90 days detailing “any additional inappropriate activities that occurred within the Intelligence Community, by anyone contracted by the Intelligence Community or by anyone who held a security clearance” in relation to the letter, including possible disciplinary measures.
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Additionally, the order revoked the security clearance of former national security advisor John Bolton due to concerns about his 2019 memoir, which the White House described as “filled with sensitive information obtained during his government service.”
Letter Regarding Hunter Biden’s Laptop
The letter—which responded to a New York Post report claiming to contain data from a laptop left by Hunter Biden at a Delaware repair shop—stated that the emails discussed in the article exhibited “all the hallmark characteristics of a Russian information operation.”
Following the release of the letter, numerous prominent Democrats referenced mainstream media reports regarding the letter when addressing inquiries raised in Congress about the emails.
In 2020, during a debate against Trump, then-candidate Biden also referred to the letter.
Trump’s order pointed out that senior CIA officials were cognizant of the letter’s contents, and that several signatories held clearances at the time while continuing to maintain “contractual relationships” with the CIA.
“This misuse of the authority of the Intelligence Community to suppress critical information from the American public during a presidential election represents a profound breach of trust akin to practices found in third-world nations,” the order stated.
Bill Pan contributed to this report.
