Revoke the clearances of former officials who speak to the press
What the document says“The President should immediately revoke the security clearances of any former Directors, Deputy Directors, or other senior intelligence officials who discuss their work in the press”
The full passage covers those who discuss their work in the press or on social media without prior clearance from the current Director. The chapter asks that agencies minimize their public presence and vigorously investigate leaks, and separately that former high-ranking officials who keep a clearance remain subject to the Hatch Act after leaving government.
What the document actually says“The President should immediately revoke the security clearances of any former Directors, Deputy Directors, or other senior intelligence officials who discuss their work in the press”
Some former chiefs talk to the press about their work. The president should take away their clearance at once.
Former spy chiefs often keep access to secrets. Some go on television to talk. The book says they should lose that access.
Holding Former Government Officials Accountable for Election Interference and Improper Disclosure of Sensitive Governmental Information
2025-01-20 · 90 FR 8343
The order directs the Director of National Intelligence, with the Director of the CIA, to revoke the current or active clearances of 49 named former intelligence officials, among them former Directors of National Intelligence and of the CIA, over a public letter they signed during the 2020 campaign, and of John Bolton over a memoir the order says treated sensitive information recklessly. That is the President stripping clearances from former senior intelligence officials for speaking publicly, the action the chapter asks for. The fit breaks down in that the order reaches a closed list of named people on two specific grounds rather than establishing that any former official who discusses their work in the press or on social media without the current Director's prior clearance loses their clearance, and it says nothing about keeping former officials subject to the Hatch Act.
The order strips clearances from 49 named former spy officials over a letter they signed in 2020. One more man loses his over a book he wrote. That is the step the book asked for. But it hits a fixed list on two set grounds, not every former official who talks to the press. It says nothing about the Hatch Act.