--- title: Donald Trump May Revoke Security Clearances of His Critics description: President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level officials who have criticized him. canonical: https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-07-23T19:14:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T18:36:08.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of His Critics og:description: Including James Comey. og:url: https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40add80d048c0c43/6988f79722fb850a40e24513/president-trump-first-year-moved-them-most-photographers-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3040 og:image:height: 1710 og:image:alt: President Trump Moved Them Most og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of His Critics twitter:description: Including James Comey. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40add80d048c0c43/6988f79722fb850a40e24513/president-trump-first-year-moved-them-most-photographers-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:41 video:published: 2018-07-23 section: politics topics: security clearances, national security, Russia, press briefing, free speech, presidential briefings, Putin meeting, political critics genre: news, press briefing tones: confrontational, defensive, probing, tense emotions: anger (medium), defensiveness (medium), concern (medium) sentiment: negative audience: political news followers, policy observers, government and security professionals, general news readers people: Donald Trump, John Brennan, James Comey, James Clapper, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Joe Biden organizations: White House content_suitability: politics [00:00-02:41]; war [02:38-02:41] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of His Critics > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f20f60d9-bbba-445e-8c6b-fb7a92ea6147&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of Former Intelligence and Security Officials [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of Former Intelligence and Security Officials](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uNk07ZF2.m3u8) (2:41)  _Published 2018-07-23. President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level intelligence and national security officials who have criticized him, the White House said Monday afternoon._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video covers the White House considering revoking security clearances of former intelligence and national security officials who have criticized President Trump. Reporters question the White House press secretary over whether the president is punishing critics for speech, whether his account of his private meeting with Putin is based only on memory, and whether former President Obama and Vice President Biden are on the list. The press secretary defends the move as addressing politicized security roles and baseless accusations against the president. ## Key points - The president is exploring mechanisms to remove security clearances because officials have politicized and monetized their public service. (00:10) - The White House says the president considers baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia by clearance holders extremely inappropriate. (00:23) - A reporter asks whether the president is punishing critics for free speech, which the press secretary disputes. (00:41) - The president is described as having met and spoken with all of his national security team since his meeting with President Putin. (00:55) - A reporter asks whether the president is relying solely on his own memory to brief officials about the two-hour meeting with Putin. (01:57) - The press secretary states the president's recollection is what the national security team relies on and declines to detail every interaction. (02:08) - The press secretary says it is a normal practice for two world leaders to hold one-on-one conversations. (02:22) - Asked whether Obama and Biden are on the list, the press secretary says they are not aware of any plans for that at this point. (02:31) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:41] White House defends considering clearance revocations. The press secretary explains the president's consideration of removing clearances from critics who made accusations about Russia. - [00:41 to 01:01] Questions on free speech and politicization. Reporters challenge the White House on whether the move punishes critics and politicizes national security. - [01:01 to 01:57] Press secretary rejects political enemies framing. The press secretary argues the accusations against the president are treasonous and the review is about protecting secrets. - [01:57 to 02:22] Briefing process after the Putin meeting. Questions focus on how the president briefed his national security team after the two-hour meeting with Putin. - [02:22 to 02:41] Clearances for Obama and Biden and closing exchange. The press secretary says no plans are known for Obama and Biden, and the briefing ends with an unrelated Iran question. ## Key quotes - [00:23] press secretary: "making baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia against the President is extremely inappropriate" - [01:08] press secretary: "No the president's not making baseless accusations of improper contact with a foreign government" - [02:08] press secretary: "It's on what he remembers that happened." - [02:31] press secretary: "I'm not aware of any plans for that at this point." ## Questions this video answers - Is the president considering revoking security clearances of critics? [00:00] - Is the president punishing critics for free speech? [00:41] - Is the president politicizing national security by going after political enemies? [01:01] - Is the president briefing his national security team on the Putin meeting based only on his own memory? [01:57] - Are President Obama and Vice President Biden on the list of clearance revocations? [02:22] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-02:41]: Entire video concerns a contested political action against critics and questions about the president's dealings with Russia. - war [02:38-02:41]: Closing unrelated question asks whether the US is going to war with Iran.  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:36 PM UTCPublished: Jul 23, 2018 7:14 PM UTC President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level intelligence and national security officials who have criticized him, the White House said Monday afternoon.  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME. Updated: Dec 12, 2023 6:36 PM UTCPublished: Jul 23, 2018 7:14 PM UTC President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level intelligence and national security officials who have criticized him, the White House said Monday afternoon. Speaking at the regular press briefing, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump was considering revoking clearances for former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of the National Security Agency Michael Hayden, among others, over their remarks on the Russia investigation. “The President is exploring the mechanisms because they politicize and in some cases monetize their public service,” Sanders said, explaining why Trump is looking at what power he has to revoke the clearance of a former officials. Speaking to CNN after the press conference, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that the president has the authority to revoke the clearances, but that doing so because of his statements was “a very, very petty thing to do” and an “abuse of the system.” “It’s kind of a sad commentary where for political reasons this is kind of a petty way for retribution for spekaing out against the president, which on the part of all of us are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump,” he said. **Read More:** [_Former Intelligence Chiefs Explain How Trump Sows Distrust to His Advantage_](http://time.com/5296645/james-clapper-michael-hayden-donald-trump-spies/) Hayden [tweeted](https://twitter.com/GenMhayden/status/1021470285307006976) that losing a security clearance would not affect him much. “I don’t go back for classified briefings,” he wrote. “Won’t have any effect on what I say or write.” The idea may have come from Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who criticized Brennan on Monday morning, arguing that he was “monetizing his security clearance” with attacks on Trump. > [](https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1021359930387902466) Paul confirmed in a tweet on Monday that he had met with Trump and had urged him to revoke these clearances. “Public officials should not use their security clearances to leverage speaking fees or network talking head fees,” he [tweeted](https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1021471167205576705). Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, believes Trump is considering the action to punish former officials who have been critical of him as well as silence officials currently serving in his administration who may consider being critical of him down the road. “It’s another example of punitive politics,” Zelizer said. Trump is likely sending a “general message” to officials that “he will push hard and not allow them to \[criticize him\] without retribution. Sanders argued that the security clearance held by former officials “provides inappropriate legitimacy to accusations with zero evidence,” adding that Trump believes it is “extremely inappropriate” for former officials to make “baseless accusations of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by Russia.” Clapper and Hayden, both former Republican appointees, have written books arguing that Trump is fueling distrust of U.S. intelligence agencies in order to consolidate his own power, hurting American democracy in the process. They have also been vocal on social media and in interviews about their views on Trump. > [](https://twitter.com/GenMhayden/status/1019304277976723457) Brennan, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, has also been outspoken in his criticism of Trump, arguing after the recent joint press conference with Vladimir Putin that Trump had met the constitutional threshold for impeachment. A spokesman for Brennan did not issue an immediate comment. > [](https://twitter.com/JohnBrennan/status/1018885971104985093) McCabe’s spokesperson Melissa Schwartz tweeted after the press briefing that his clearance had been terminated when he was fired in March, which they were told was FBI policy. You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps…” she tweeted. And Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of the website lawfare and a friend of Comey’s, said he texted the former FBI Director after the briefing, who told him he too no longer had one due to longstanding policy – and had declined a temporary one earlier in the year to read the inspector general’s report on Hillary Clinton’s e-mail investigation. > [](https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1021485887383851008) > [](https://twitter.com/benjaminwittes/status/1021485890751873024) _With Alana Abramson_ ## Transcript [00:00] The president is threatening to punish Brennan and [00:02] Comey and Clapper for saying things about him that he [00:06] doesn't like. Is that presidential? The president is [00:10] exploring these mechanisms to remove security [00:14] clearance because they've politicized and in some [00:16] cases actually monetized Their public service and their [00:19] security clearances and making baseless accusations [00:23] of improper contact with Russia or being influenced by [00:26] Russia against the President is extremely [00:28] inappropriate. The President contends to the fact that [00:31] people with security clearances are making these [00:33] baseless charges provides inappropriate legitimacy to [00:36] accusations with zero evidence. So, there- When we [00:38] have futher updates, On that front, I'll certainly let you [00:41] know. Free speech he doesn't like, and he wants to [00:43] punish them for it. No, I think you are creating your [00:47] own story there. The president doesn't like the fact [00:50] that people are politicizing agencies and [00:55] departments that are specifically Meant to not be [00:58] political and not meant to be monetized off of security [01:01] clearance. [ UNKNOWN ] [ UNKNOWN ] A separate [01:01] question actually, but to follow up on that. Isn't the [01:05] President doing exactly what you just said the [01:07] President doesn't want all these people doing? [01:08] Politizing matters of national security by going after his [01:11] political enemies? No the president's not making [01:13] baseless accusations of improper contact with a [01:16] foreign government and accusing the president of the [01:20] United States of treasonous activity. When you have the [01:22] highest level of security clearance, when you're the [01:24] person that holds the nation's deepest, most sacred [01:28] secrets at your hands and you go out and you make [01:31] false accusations against the president of the United [01:33] States. He thinks that's a Something to be very concern [01:37] with and we're exploring what those options are and [01:41] what that looks like. [ CROSSTALK ] My question is not [01:43] about the press but is the President brief to his [01:45] National Security Advisor, his Secretary of State, the [01:48] Director of National Intellegence, And the Defense [01:51] Secretary on what exactly was said between him and [01:53] President Putin? The President has met and spoken [01:57] with all of those individuals since his meeting with [01:59] President Putin. David. And when he briefs them, is he [02:00] relying solely on his own memory to tell them what [02:02] happened during that two- hour meeting? The [02:05] president has met and consulted with all of his national [02:08] security team. And we feel very confident in this [02:10] process. It's on what he remembers that happened. [02:12] It's not- Katelyn I'm not gonna go into the specific [02:14] details on how the president interacts every single time [02:18] with his national security team. Well this is a rarity [02:20] though. But- It's a sit down with the Russian president [02:22] for two hours one- on- one. It's actually not a rarity. [02:22] It's a A normal practice for two world leaders to be [02:26] able to have a conversation with one another. David, [02:27] go ahead. What about President Obama and [02:31] Vice President Biden and their security clearances, are [02:33] they on the list as well? I'm not aware of any plans for [02:36] that at this point. Thanks so much, guys, we'll see you [02:37] on the South Lawn. Are we going to war with Iran? That [02:38] was a great question, David. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/"},"headline":"President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of His Critics","datePublished":"2018-07-23T19:14:47.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T18:36:08.000Z","description":"President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level officials who have criticized him.","url":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/","keywords":["National Security","White House","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40add80d048c0c43/6988f79722fb850a40e24513/president-trump-first-year-moved-them-most-photographers-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is a former senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt40add80d048c0c43/6988f79722fb850a40e24513/president-trump-first-year-moved-them-most-photographers-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Moved Them Most","caption":"President Trump Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers And First White House James Comey","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/","name":"President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of His Critics"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Is Considering Revoking Security Clearances of Former Intelligence and Security Officials","description":"President Donald Trump is considering revoking the security clearances for a half-dozen former high-level intelligence and national security officials who have criticized him, the White House said Monday afternoon.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uNk07ZF2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-07-23T20:26:42.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uNk07ZF2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/","duration":"PT2M41S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5346297/donald-trump-security-clearances/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```