DNI Gabbard Revokes Security Clearances for 37 Officials Tied to Russia 2016 Election Probe

 Move targets intelligence professionals involved in assessment of Russian interference, drawing accusations of political retaliation

WASHINGTON – Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has revoked the security clearances of at least 37 current and former national security officials, according to an internal memo obtained by CNN. The move primarily targets individuals involved in the intelligence community's 2017 assessment of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

According to a source familiar with the matter, those impacted include intelligence professionals who contributed to that assessment, as well as some members of former President Joe Biden’s National Security Council. The source noted that most of the individuals are not public figures. The revocations were first reported by the New York Post.

In a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday, DNI Gabbard defended the decision. "Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right," she wrote. "Those in the Intelligence Community who betray their oath to the Constitution and put their own interests ahead of the interests of the American people have broken the sacred trust they promised to uphold."

The memo, circulated to multiple US intelligence agencies on Monday, accused the officials of the “politicization or weaponization of intelligence to advance personal, partisan, or non-objective agendas inconsistent with national security priorities.” It also alleged failures in protecting classified information and unprofessional tradecraft in intelligence assessments, though it did not cite specific evidence of wrongdoing for each individual.

This action is the latest in a concerted effort by senior Trump administration officials to discredit the 2017 intelligence assessment, which concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit then-candidate Donald Trump. In July, Gabbard released declassified documents she claimed were evidence of a "treasonous conspiracy" by the Obama administration and made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.

These efforts are echoed by other administration officials. CIA Director John Ratcliffe has issued his own review critical of the 2017 assessment, leading to an FBI investigation of former officials. Concurrently, Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to convene a grand jury to investigate allegations that the Obama administration manufactured intelligence.

Critics and Democratic lawmakers accuse the administration of using these actions to punish political adversaries and distract from other controversies. Gabbard, in particular, has been accused of misrepresenting the intelligence community's findings. For instance, she has highlighted that Russia did not alter vote tallies, a claim the intelligence community never made; the assessment focused on influence operations, not changing physical votes.

Furthermore, Gabbard has promoted a declassified Republican House Intelligence Committee report that questioned the sourcing for the conclusion that Vladimir Putin preferred Trump. However, that report did not allege that the intelligence was "manufactured" or that Russian interference did not occur, as Gabbard has claimed.

While Gabbard has framed her actions as part of a mission to "depoliticize" the intelligence community, critics argue she is doing the opposite.

"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," said Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney whose own clearance was previously revoked by the Trump administration. "For this administration to claim these individuals politicized or weaponized intelligence blatantly reeks of hypocrisy. This administration would make Senator McCarthy proud."