Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that Joe Biden will no longer receive intelligence briefings or have access to classified information.
Trump shared this decision on Friday, February 7, through a post on his social media platform after arriving at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
In his post, Trump said there was no reason for Biden to continue receiving intelligence updates. He claimed Biden set this precedent in 2021 when he ordered the Intelligence Community to block Trump from accessing national security details after leaving office.
Trump also referred to last year’s special counsel report on Biden’s handling of classified documents.
He quoted the report’s statement that Biden has a “poor memory” and suggested that even when Biden was younger, he was not fully trustworthy with sensitive information.
Trump ended his message with a bold statement:
“I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
This is not the first time Trump has revoked security clearances. In 2020, he removed access from more than 50 former intelligence officials who had signed a letter claiming that reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop seemed like a Russian disinformation campaign.
He has also revoked security protections from former government officials who criticized him, including his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who both faced security threats.
Biden has not yet responded to Trump’s latest decision. However, in 2021, he took similar action against Trump.
After Trump was accused of encouraging efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot, Biden blocked him from receiving intelligence briefings.
At the time, Biden said there was no need for Trump to have access to classified details, arguing that his “erratic” behavior posed a risk.
In an interview, Biden refused to speculate on what Trump might do with intelligence briefings but made it clear he did not trust him with that information.
Trump himself has faced legal trouble over classified documents. In 2022, federal agents searched his Florida home and found boxes of classified records.
He was later charged with illegally keeping those documents and trying to block the FBI from retrieving them. Trump pleaded not guilty, and the case was eventually dismissed after a judge ruled that the special counsel handling the case was not properly appointed.
