The administration of United States President Donald Trump has revoked the security clearances of 37 people it accused of politicizing or weaponizing intelligence for partisan aims.
According to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the group had “abused the public trust,” accusing them of “politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards.”
The statement did not provide evidence of the alleged violations, and security clearances are rarely revoked, with the names of those revoked typically not publicized.
The list includes former senior officials and little-known staffers, such as Shelby Pierson, an election security official who briefed lawmakers on Russian interference in US elections and drew Trump’s ire for claiming Moscow favored him in the 2020 elections.
Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing intelligence officers, said the revocations could be considered “unlawful and unconstitutional decisions that deviate from well-settled, decades-old laws and policies that sought to protect against just this type of action.”
He added that it is “completely unprofessional, yet so common, that the administration took actions targeting individuals in a retaliatory way that impacts their careers and lives, yet did not notify them first before leaking the memo to friendly media.”
The move is part of Trump’s broader effort to target perceived enemies, including members of previous administrations deemed corrupt. Earlier this year, he fired thousands of federal employees, including career prosecutors involved in federal probes into Trump’s behavior.
The revocation of security clearances for current officials effectively removes them from their jobs. Notable individuals affected include:
- Shelby Pierson: Election security official who briefed lawmakers on Russian interference in US elections
- Vinh X. Nguyen: Senior National Security Agency data scientist and expert on quantum computing, data science, and cyber issues
- Edward Gistaro and Beth Sanner: Both briefed Trump during his first term and were mentioned in a recent book on the CIA
The loss of expertise, particularly Nguyen’s, could set back the US government’s development of key technologies. Critics argue that Trump’s actions undermine the integrity of the intelligence community and pose a grave danger to national security.