Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday that she has revoked the security clearances of dozens of current and former intelligence officials.
Gabbard revealed that those intel officials had “politicized and manipulated” their positions in ways that undermined national security and public trust.
At President Donald Trump’s direction, Gabbard released a memo naming 37 officials, including senior Obama-era intelligence figures, whose access to classified systems and facilities has now been terminated.
In her statement, Gabbard said:
“These individuals abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards.”
The list includes former Principal Deputy DNI Stephanie O’Sullivan and Vinh Nguyen, both of whom worked under former DNI James Clapper in assembling the controversial 2017 intelligence assessment that claimed Russia had sought to aid Trump’s election victory by harming Hillary Clinton.
That assessment has long been criticized as rushed and politically driven.
Documents released by Gabbard in recent weeks revealed that, on December 7, 2016, U.S. intelligence concluded Russia had likely not meaningfully interfered in the election.
That finding was discarded the very next day, “based on new guidance” provided to the report’s editor.
Just two days later, on December 9, then-President Barack Obama convened his top national security officials at the White House.
Following that meeting, a new assessment was ordered.
However, the new assessment reached the opposite conclusion.
It was also completed in less than a month, despite the fact that similar intelligence reviews typically take a year or more to assemble.
Conveniently, it was rushed through before Trump was sworn into office for his first administration.
Gabbard’s August 18 memo made clear that the revocations carry immediate consequences.
“Their access to classified systems, facilities, materials, and information is to be terminated forthwith,” the directive stated.
“Any contracts or employment with the U.S. Government by these 37 individuals is hereby terminated.
“Any credentials held by these individuals must be surrendered to the appropriate security officers.”
The decision marks one of the most sweeping rollbacks of clearances for intelligence professionals in U.S. history and reflects Trump’s push to rein in what he has called the “weaponized intelligence community.”
Critics say the system was manipulated under Obama to undermine Trump’s presidency even before he took office.
Gabbard has also released a cache of related documents, increasing scrutiny of how the Obama administration handled intelligence in the final weeks of 2016.
Her disclosures have fueled renewed debate over whether the Russia assessment was designed to damage Trump politically rather than provide an objective analysis.
For the Trump administration, the move is part of a broader campaign to restore accountability in the intelligence community.
Gabbard said America’s intelligence services must return to professionalism and neutrality instead of serving political interests.
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