National intelligence director strips security clearances from 37 current and former national security officials

The Guardian

a day ago

Update:
Date: 2025-08-20T09:47:51.000Z
Title: Gabbard strips security clearance from dozens of intelligence officials
Content: Good morning and welcome to the US politics live blog. I'm Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest news lines over the next few hours.
We start with news that national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said on Tuesday that she had stripped security clearances from 37 current and former national security officials, including some who worked on the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
In a memo posted on X, Gabbard accused the targeted individuals of having engaged in 'politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards'.
This move is the latest in a series of retributions by the Trump administration against national security officials and political opponents he views as adversaries.
'These are unlawful and unconstitutional decisions that deviate from well-settled, decades-old laws and policies that sought to protect against just this type of action,' Mark Zaid, a national security lawyer whose own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, said in a statement.
He called it hypocritical for the administration to 'claim these individuals politicized or weaponized intelligence.'
In March, Trump revoked security clearances for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and several other Democrats and critics. The order also stripped access from former secretary of state Antony Blinken, former representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, New York attorney general Letitia James – who prosecuted Trump for fraud – and Biden's entire family.
In other developments:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will open a new migrant detention facility in Nebraska as part of President Trump's ongoing efforts to bolster Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (Ice) detention network. The facility, located in the southwest part of the state, has been called 'Cornhusker Clink' by the department and will hold undocumented migrants arrested by Ice. The project is a partnership between the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services and Ice, adding up to 280 new detention beds.
National guard members from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana began arriving in Washington on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports, to help with President Donald Trump's federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. The Joint Task Force District of Columbia, the military unit overseeing the Guard, told the news wire that those troops will perform similar duties to local Guard members already on the streets. These tasks include protecting landmarks and crowd control.
The White House launched an official TikTok account, joining the social platform with more than 150 million US users. Reuters first reported the move. The first video posted by the White House on TikTok shows a video montage with a Trump voiceover saying: 'Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation. I am your voice.' More here.
Texas Democrats are tearing up the 'permission slips' they signed in order to leave the chamber, joining state representative Nicole Collier ahead of Wednesday's vote on the controversial Texas congressional redistricting maps. The slips are part of new surveillance protocols set by Texas Republicans in the House chamber, stating that Democrats would 'be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated [Texas department of public safety] officer' who would ensure their return to the chamber.
Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Washington DC police systematically manipulated crime statistics to make the city appear safer than it actually is. The probe, anonymous sources tell the Washington Post, NBC News and Fox News, being conducted by the US attorney's office for the District of Columbia under Jeanine Pirro, is the latest escalation between the Trump administration and DC officials over federal control of local policing. More here.
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it will look for 'anti-American' views, including on social media, when assessing the applications of people wanting to live in the United States. In an announcement, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles requests to stay in the United States or become a citizen, said it would expand vetting of the social media postings of applicants and that 'reviews for anti-American activity will be added to that vetting'. More here.