Updated Feb 7, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Trump is pulling Biden's clearance and daily briefing access

Sareen Habeshian

President Trump talks as Biden listens with a crowd around them — President Trump, center, and former President Biden on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Trump announced on Friday he's cutting former President Biden's access to classified information and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.

The big picture: Trump revoked security clearances earlier this month for about 51 former intelligence officials who signed a letter in 2020 comparing the Hunter Biden laptop probe to a "Russian information operation."

Driving the news: "There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information," the president said on Truth Social.

Access has historically been given to outgoing presidents as a courtesy by virtue of having been president.
Citing the special counsel report from last year into Biden's handling of classified documents, Trump alleged the former president suffers from "poor memory" cannot be trusted with sensitive information.
He added, "JOE, YOU'RE FIRED."

Zoom out: Trump was indicted in 2023 for allegedly mishandling classified information, but a federal judge later dismissed the case.

Flashback: Biden revoked Trump's classified intelligence briefings in the aftermath of the Capitol riot, citing Trump's "erratic" behavior.

Biden did not immediately comment on the move.

Go deeper: Trump says he'll remove Kennedy Center board members, name himself chair

Editor's note: This story has been updated with added context.

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Trump is pulling Biden's clearance and daily briefing access

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