Turning Law Enforcement on Opponents

Intelligence Against Opponents

Trump Ordered 15 Opponents Stripped of Classified Access, Then Called for Firings and Possible Charges

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Chapter 1 — Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets

Chapter 2 — Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials

Chapter 3 — The Power Was Public; the Uses Served Trump

1 · Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets

1 · Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets — select a subtopic

1.1 — Fifteen Names, Including the Prosecutors Who Brought Cases Against Him

1.2 — A Judge Found the Lawyer Lost His Clearance Because of His Clients

1 · Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets

1.1 · Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets

Fifteen Names, Including the Prosecutors Who Brought Cases Against Him

Trump personally ordered fifteen named people stripped of access to classified information, including two prosecutors who had brought cases against him. His memorandum recited no misconduct by anyone on the list. His intelligence chief said she carried out clearance revocations at his direction.

Presidential memorandum revoking classified access

I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information:

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States · March 22, 2025

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Sources

[1]Presidential Memorandum, "Rescinding Security Clearances and Access to Classified Information from Specified Individuals" (Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies), The White House

[2]Memorandum Opinion and Order, ECF 52, Zaid v. Executive Office of the President, No. 1:25-cv-01365 (D.D.C.)

[3]John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (@CIADirector), X status 1940452440937263396, from the platform's own static syndication endpoint

[4]Donald J. Trump, Address to the Nation on Election Reforms, July 16, 2026, DCPD-202600469

[5]New York Attorney General Letitia James, release describing her civil fraud lawsuit and February 2024 judgment

[6]Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, April 4, 2023 announcement of the 34-count Trump indictment

[7]Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (@DNIGabbard), X status 1899176257406857274 — immutable Wayback Machine snapshot of the platform response, timestamp 2025-10-18 08:34:43 UTC

[8]ODNI News Release No. 05-25, "DNI Gabbard Establishes Task Force to Restore Trust in the Intelligence Community and End Weaponization of Government Against Americans" — Wayback Machine snapshot of the agency's own page

[9]ODNI News Release No. 08-25, Office of the Director of National Intelligence — Wayback Machine snapshot of the agency's own page, timestamp 2026-01-02 01:48:34 UTC

1.2 · Trump Chose Who Could See the Secrets

A Judge Found the Lawyer Lost His Clearance Because of His Clients

Mark Zaid, a lawyer for whistleblowers, was one of the fifteen. A federal judge found, on a preliminary record, that he lost his clearance solely because he represented whistleblowers and other clients adverse to the government. The judge issued a preliminary injunction for Zaid, and the government appealed.

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Sources

[2]Memorandum Opinion and Order, ECF 52, Zaid v. Executive Office of the President, No. 1:25-cv-01365 (D.D.C.)

[10]ACLU of DC, Zaid v. Executive Office of the President case account, update March 27, 2026

[11]Statement of Sen. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on the Director of National Intelligence's criminal referral of a whistleblower

[12]Letter from Sen. Mark R. Warner, Vice Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Rep. Jim Himes, Ranking Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to the Director of National Intelligence

[13]Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (@DNIGabbard), X status 2020227805976678574 — Wayback Machine snapshot of the platform's own application-programming-interface response

2 · Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials

2 · Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials — select a subtopic

2.1 — Ratcliffe's Own Review Did Not Establish His Accusation

2.2 — In July 2026, Trump Himself Demanded Firings and Possible Charges

2 · Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials

2.1 · Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials

Ratcliffe's Own Review Did Not Establish His Accusation

CIA Director John Ratcliffe released a review of the 2016 election assessment and accused three former officials of manipulating intelligence to get Trump. The review found serious procedural and sourcing problems, but also called the assessment defensible and its analytic rigor stronger than most intelligence products. Gabbard separately called the prior administration's conduct a treasonous conspiracy and sent documents to the Justice Department.

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Sources

[3]John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (@CIADirector), X status 1940452440937263396, from the platform's own static syndication endpoint

[14]Central Intelligence Agency, "CIA Director John Ratcliffe Declassifies Internal Tradecraft Review of 2016 Election ICA to Promote Analytic Objectivity and Transparency," cia.gov

[15]ODNI News Release No. 15-25, "New Evidence of Obama Administration Conspiracy to Subvert President Trump's 2016 Victory and Presidency," Office of the Director of National Intelligence — Wayback Machine snapshot of the agency's own page

[16]Central Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Analysis, "Tradecraft Review of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian Election Interference," CIA-DA-CN-2025-20625, declassified July 2, 2025

[17]Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, Volume 4: Review of the Intelligence Community Assessment (bipartisan, 2020)

[18]Letter from Rep. Jim Himes, Ranking Member, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, to the Director of National Intelligence

[19]House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Democrats, statement of Rep. Jim Himes and Rep. Joaquin Castro on the declassification of the April 7, 2025 National Intelligence Council memorandum

[20]NBC News, report on the removal of the National Intelligence Council's acting chair and vice chair

[21]CNN, report on the removal of the two senior National Intelligence Council officials

[22]ODNI 2.0 Fact Sheet, unclassified, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

2.2 · Declassified Intelligence Became Accusations Against Former Officials

In July 2026, Trump Himself Demanded Firings and Possible Charges

Trump personally announced an election-intelligence release and called for investigations, firings and possible criminal charges against officials he accused of hiding information. The White House later said he had made no claim about past elections, although his speech said the American system had been hacked or compromised in the past. Possession of voter data or a vulnerability is not proof that votes were altered.

Address to the Nation on Election Reforms, Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents

Today I'm asking the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the CIA to investigate how and why such crucial information was hidden, to fire those involved in the coverup, and to file criminal charges, if appropriate, against these people.

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States · July 16, 2026

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Sources

[4]Donald J. Trump, Address to the Nation on Election Reforms, July 16, 2026, DCPD-202600469

[22]ODNI 2.0 Fact Sheet, unclassified, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[23]Joe Walsh and Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, Trump's speech revisits disputed claims about election security but offers no new evidence of fraud, July 17, 2026

[24]White House, Setting the Record Straight on Foreign Election Interference and Deep State Coverup, July 17, 2026

[25]National Intelligence Council, Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections, March 10, 2021, declassified March 15

[26]Memorandum from the Attorney General to all Department of Justice employees, "General Policy Regarding Charging, Plea Negotiations, and Sentencing," U.S. Department of Justice

[27]50 U.S.C. §3059, "Foreign Malign Influence Center," Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States House of Representatives (prelim text, laws in effect August 4, 2026)

[28]Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, statement for the record of Director of National Intelligence Daniel R. Coats to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, May 11, 2017

[29]Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, statement for the record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 13, 2018

[30]Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, statement for the record, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, January 29, 2019

[31]Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, April 2021, as hosted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

[32]Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, 2022, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[33]Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, 2023, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[34]Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, 2024, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[35]Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, 2025, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

[36]Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community, 2026, as hosted by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (information available as of March 14, 2026)

3 · The Power Was Public; the Uses Served Trump

3 · The Power Was Public; the Uses Served Trump — select a subtopic

3.1 — Lawful Authority Does Not Settle Whether Its Use Abused Public Trust

3 · The Power Was Public; the Uses Served Trump

3.1 · The Power Was Public; the Uses Served Trump

Lawful Authority Does Not Settle Whether Its Use Abused Public Trust

Trump's powers over secrets and executive personnel are broad. A federal judge nevertheless found on a preliminary record that Mark Zaid lost his clearance because of his clients. The charge is abuse of those powers through political punishment and distorted intelligence claims.

Read the full chapter — all the detail, fully footnoted →

Sources

[2]Memorandum Opinion and Order, ECF 52, Zaid v. Executive Office of the President, No. 1:25-cv-01365 (D.D.C.)

[3]John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (@CIADirector), X status 1940452440937263396, from the platform's own static syndication endpoint

[4]Donald J. Trump, Address to the Nation on Election Reforms, July 16, 2026, DCPD-202600469

[5]New York Attorney General Letitia James, release describing her civil fraud lawsuit and February 2024 judgment

[6]Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, April 4, 2023 announcement of the 34-count Trump indictment

[37]Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518 (1988) (Library of Congress, United States Reports)

[38]Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926) (Legal Information Institute rendering)

[39]Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 19-7 (U.S. June 29, 2020) (slip opinion)

[40]Executive Order 13526, "Classified National Security Information," 75 Fed. Reg. 707 (January 5, 2010), Government Publishing Office

[41]Trump v. United States, No. 23-939 (U.S. July 1, 2024) (slip opinion)