{"id":5760,"date":"2025-02-08T11:52:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T16:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=5760"},"modified":"2025-02-08T11:52:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T16:52:31","slug":"trump-to-biden-joe-youre-fired-clearances-pulled-briefings-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=5760","title":{"rendered":"Trump to Biden: ‘Joe, You’re Fired!’ \u2013 Clearances Pulled, Briefings End"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It appears that what goes around, comes around\u2014especially in politics. President Donald Trump, fresh off his second inauguration, announced that he was pulling former President Joe Biden\u2019s security clearance and ending his access to daily intelligence briefings. And in classic Trump fashion, he did it with a zinger straight out of The Apprentice<\/em>: \u201cJoe, YOU\u2019RE FIRED.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump made the declaration on Truth Social while en route to his Florida retreat, Mar-a-Lago, setting off a media firestorm. \u201cThere is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTherefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden\u2019s Security Clearances and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings.\u201d He then threw in a bit of historical context, adding, \u201cHe set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Taste of His Own Medicine?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden had previously revoked Trump\u2019s access to intelligence briefings shortly after taking office in 2021, citing concerns over Trump\u2019s \u201cerratic\u201d behavior following the January 6th Capitol riot. In an interview at the time, Biden dismissed the need for Trump to receive intelligence updates, saying, \u201cWhat value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward four years, and it seems Trump took notes. With Biden now on the receiving end, the former president had little to say in response\u2014at least, not immediately. However, his allies have already begun crying foul, arguing that Trump\u2019s decision is purely political retribution. Andrew Bates, Biden\u2019s former White House senior deputy press secretary, quipped, \u201cThis will not lower the price of eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hur Report and Biden\u2019s \u2018Fuzzy Memory\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump further justified his decision by pointing to last year\u2019s special counsel report on Biden\u2019s handling of classified documents. Known as the Hur Report, it described Biden\u2019s memory as \u201cfuzzy\u201d and possessing \u201csignificant limitations.\u201d The report noted that Biden struggled to recall key dates, including the death of his own son, Beau, and even his tenure as vice president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven in his \u2018prime,\u2019 he could not be trusted with sensitive information,\u201d Trump wrote, citing the report\u2019s findings. He then closed his announcement with a familiar rallying cry: \u201cI will always protect our National Security\u2014JOE, YOU\u2019RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Presidents and Intelligence Briefings: A Tradition Upended?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, former presidents have been granted access to intelligence briefings at the discretion of the sitting president. The practice, though not codified into law, has been considered a bipartisan courtesy, allowing past commanders-in-chief to remain informed on global affairs in case their counsel is needed. However, that tradition began unraveling in 2021 when Biden took the unprecedented step of revoking Trump\u2019s access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Biden\u2019s decision was based on national security concerns, Trump’s move appears to be, at least in part, a matter of political score-settling. The fact remains, however, that Biden\u2019s legal standing to challenge the revocation is virtually nonexistent. As sitting president, Trump holds the final authority over intelligence access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Revocations on the Way?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden is not the only one to have his clearance pulled under Trump\u2019s second administration. Reports indicate that Trump has also revoked access for former military and intelligence officials who publicly criticized him, including retired General Mark Milley and over 50 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter suggesting that Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Trump has reportedly removed the security details of some former officials, including ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security adviser John Bolton. Clearly, this is more than just a one-off revocation\u2014it’s a full-scale purge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Grudge or a Genuine Concern?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political analysts are divided on Trump\u2019s motives. Some argue that he is simply leveling the playing field after Biden broke tradition in 2021. Others believe that the move is rooted in genuine concerns over Biden\u2019s cognitive state and ability to handle sensitive information. Either way, one thing is clear: Trump is relishing every moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will this be the final chapter in the Biden-Trump security clearance saga, or is this just the beginning of a new era of political payback? Given Trump\u2019s flair for the dramatic, don\u2019t be surprised if more fireworks are on the horizon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It appears that what goes around, comes around\u2014especially in politics. President Donald Trump, fresh off his second inauguration, announced that he was pulling former President Joe Biden\u2019s security clearance and ending his access to daily intelligence briefings. And in classic Trump fashion, he did it with a zinger straight out of The Apprentice: \u201cJoe, YOU\u2019RE FIRED.\u201d Trump made the declaration on Truth Social while en route to his Florida retreat, Mar-a-Lago, setting off a media firestorm. \u201cThere is no need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-president-biden","category-trump"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/trumpfireds.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5760"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5763,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5760\/revisions\/5763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}