Trump revokes security clearances from Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton
President Trump pulled security clearances for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and others.
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a memorandum on April 24 ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate allegations of foreign donations in U.S. elections, and materials provided by a White House official point to Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue as a potential violator that will be highlighted in the order.
The focus on ActBlue follows a series of moves Trump has made to punish perceived adversaries, including revoking security clearances, targeting law firms and initiating an investigation into two former Department of Homeland Security officials.
The White House is citing an investigation into ActBlue by GOP-controlled congressional committees. The committees released a report earlier this month alleging that ActBlue has a “fundamentally unserious approach to fraud prevention… one that has left the door open for large-scale fraud campaigns on Democrats’ top fundraising platform.” Federal law prohibits contributions by foreign nationals in U.S. elections.
ActBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This is the biggest load of politically driven authoritarian garbage imaginable. literally targeting the campaign infrastructure of your opponents,” Utah Democratic state Sen. Nate Blouin said on social media in response to reports about the presidential memorandum.
Trump signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration, revoking the security clearances for 50 former intelligence officials. All but one of the officials had signed a 2020 letter that said the public release of emails that reportedly belonged to former President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” More security clearances have since been revoked.
The Trump administration also has targeted law firms, including one that represented former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, another that employed a lawyer who aided former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into allegations of pro-Trump Russian election interference and a firm that employed Mueller. In some executive orders, Trump accused the firms of being “partisan” in the clients they represented.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers, Josh Meyer, Aysha Bagchi