Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday stripped security clearances from dozens of current and former intelligence officials who “abused the public trust.”
Gabbard announced the move in a post on X, releasing a memo that names 37 current and former intelligence officials, some with ties to an Obama-era intelligence assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Gabbard, at the direction of President Donald Trump, “directed the revocation of the security clearances of 37 current and former intelligence professionals who have abused the public trust by politicizing and manipulating intelligence, leaking classified intelligence without authorization, and/or committing intentional egregious violations of tradecraft standards,” said Gabbard in a statement.
Being entrusted with a security clearance is a privilege, not a right. 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. In… pic.twitter.com/23DUNuVAi0
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) August 19, 2025
The officials who have had their security access yanked include ex-Principal Deputy DNI Stephanie O’Sullivan and Vinh Nguyen. Both O’Sullivan and Nguyen aided former DNI James Clapper in assembling the controversial intelligence assessment that determined that “the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him.”
“The President has directed that, effective immediately, the security clearances of the following 37 individuals are revoked. Their access to classified systems, facilities, materials, and information is to be terminated forthwith. 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,” Gabbard’s August 18 memo states.
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Gabbard has released a trove of documents and communications related to the intelligence assessment in recent weeks, increasing scrutiny of former President Barack Obama and his team of intelligence officials.
The assessment was ordered in early December weeks after the 2016 election and concluded in roughly a month, an extraordinary timeline for an assessment that typically should have taken a year or more to investigate and assemble, according to documents released by Gabbard.
Files released by Gabbard show that on December 7, 2016, an intelligence assessment determined that Russia likely did not meaningfully interfere in the 2016 election. The assessment was scrapped the next day “based on new guidance” received by the assessment’s editor.
On December 9, a meeting was called at the White House between Obama and his top national security officials. Afterward, the new assessment was ordered and completed less than a month later.
