Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Tuesday that 37 current and former intelligence officials have had their security clearances revoked.
In a post on X, Gabbard stated the individuals “abused public trust by politicizing and manipulating” intelligence.
The New York Post first reported that several of those named were tied to the Intelligence Community Assessment ordered by former President Barack Obama in 2017 regarding alleged Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.
A memo from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence detailed the decision. It said the 37 officials “engaged in some or all” of a series of actions, including disregarding tradecraft practices, politicizing and misusing intelligence, and failing to protect classified material.
“The President has directed that, effective immediately, the security clearances of the following 37 individuals are revoked,” the ODNI document said.
“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,” the memo continued.
Among those named were former Principal Deputy DNI Stephanie O’Sullivan and Vinh Nguyen.
Both were reported to have worked with then-DNI James Clapper in drafting the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which claimed Russia held a “preference for President-elect [Donald] Trump” over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
That report has since been widely challenged.
Several others tied to the revocations were also connected to the ICA report.
Some of them had later endorsed a September 2019 public statement supporting House Democrats’ launch of an impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Gabbard, in her X post, said the decision reflected the gravity of holding a clearance.
“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,” she wrote.
“In doing so, they undermine our national security, the safety and security of the American people and the foundational principles of our democratic republic,” she added.
The list also included Samantha Vinograd, who served as assistant secretary for counterterrorism, threat prevention, and law enforcement policy at the Department of Homeland Security during Joe Biden’s administration.
Vinograd had previously worked on Obama’s National Security Council and was among those who signed a letter during the 2016 campaign urging Trump to disclose his business interests.
Other former officials named included Andrew Miller, who served on Obama’s National Security Council and later as Biden’s deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs; Loren DeJonge Schulman, a senior adviser to Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice; and Beth Sanner, who served as vice-chair of Obama’s National Intelligence Council.
The revocations mark a significant move by the current intelligence leadership in addressing what Gabbard described as breaches of public trust within the intelligence community.
