February 8th 2025.
President Donald Trump, while spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, made a bold announcement on Friday. He declared that former President Joe Biden's access to government secrets will be revoked and the daily intelligence briefings he receives will be discontinued. This decision comes as a retaliatory measure after Biden did the same to Trump in 2021.
Trump took to his social media platform to make the announcement, stating that there is no valid reason for Biden to continue receiving classified information. He explained that this decision was influenced by the precedent set by Biden himself in 2021 when he instructed the Intelligence Community to restrict Trump's access to details on National Security. Trump deemed this courtesy, which is usually extended to former Presidents, unnecessary for Biden.
This move is just one of many in Trump's "vengeance tour" of Washington, as he had promised during his campaign. He has previously revoked security clearances from over forty former intelligence officials who signed a letter questioning the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, which they believed was a "Russian information operation." Trump has also withdrawn security details from former government officials who have criticized him, including his former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who faced threats from Iran, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, a former infectious disease expert.
Biden has not yet responded to Trump's decision. However, in 2021, Biden had discontinued Trump's intelligence briefings after the former President's role in inciting the January 6th attack on the Capitol and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. At the time, Biden had stated that Trump's erratic behavior should disqualify him from receiving such briefings. When asked in an interview about his fears if Trump continued to receive the briefings, Biden had declined to speculate but had made it clear that he did not want Trump to have access to sensitive information. He had questioned the value and potential risks of Trump receiving intelligence briefings.
In 2022, federal agents had searched Trump's Florida home and seized boxes of classified records. Trump was then charged with multiple felonies for illegally hoarding classified documents and obstructing FBI efforts to retrieve them. However, he had pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. The charges were eventually dismissed by a judge who ruled that the special counsel who brought them was unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department also gave up on pursuing the case after Trump's election in November.
In a related matter, Trump had also dismissed Colleen Shogan from her role as the archivist of the United States. White House aide Sergio Gor announced this on Friday night. Trump had previously stated in January that he would replace the head of the National Archives and Records Administration. This government agency had angered Trump by informing the Justice Department about his mishandling of classified documents. Shogan, who was the first woman to hold the position, was not in this role when the issue arose.
In his social media post about Biden, Trump referenced the special counsel report from the previous year, which had investigated Biden's handling of classified information. He claimed that the report had revealed Biden's "poor memory" and stated that even in his "prime," he could not be trusted with sensitive information. Trump concluded his post with his famous catchphrase, "I will always protect our National Security - JOE, YOU'RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
The special counsel report had found that Biden's handling of classified information did not warrant criminal charges. However, it did include a scathing assessment of his memory, describing it as "hazy," "fuzzy," "faulty," "poor," and with "significant limitations." The report highlighted how Biden could not recall significant events in his own life, such as his son Beau's death or his time as Vice President.
As a sitting President, Trump has the authority to decide whether a former President should continue to have access to classified information. Steven Cheung, the president's communications director, shared Trump's post on social media and added a playful jab, "Hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more!" It seems like the feud between these two former Presidents is far from over.
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