President Donald Trump announced on Friday evening that he is rescinding former President Joe Biden’s security clearance with immediate effect, thereby prohibiting him from attending intelligence briefings. Trump conveyed his thoughts on his Truth Social platform, stating that there was no justification for Biden to keep receiving confidential information.

Trump justified his decision by referencing Biden’s similar action taken against him in 2021, which established a pattern. Biden had informed CBS News in February 2021 that he questioned Trump’s reliability with classified data due to his unpredictable conduct.

Biden had commented, “I’d rather not speculate out loud. I just believe there’s no need for him to receive the intelligence briefings. What’s the point of giving him an intelligence briefing? What effect does he have at all, except the possibility he might inadvertently disclose something?”

It’s worth noting that intelligence briefings are a customary practice provided to former presidents after they leave office.

Trump’s decision was also influenced by a report from Robert Hur, the special counsel who probed Biden’s management of classified materials post his vice presidency. According to the Hur Report, Biden allegedly has a ‘poor memory’ and even in his best years, he couldn’t be trusted with sensitive data.

The findings of the special counsel infuriated Biden’s allies and supplied political fodder to the Republicans, including the suggestion that Biden could portray himself to a jury as a sympathetic elderly man with a poor memory. However, Hur ultimately decided not to press criminal charges against Biden, as there was insufficient proof to conclusively demonstrate that Biden had broken the law.

In one of his initial executive actions since his return to the White House, Trump has rescinded the security clearances of numerous former intelligence officials who, in 2020, had signed a letter stating that emails discovered on a laptop belonging to Biden’s son, Hunter, showed signs of a Russian disinformation campaign. Trump also withdrew the clearance of his former national security adviser, John Bolton, a vocal critic, as well as Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.