Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) delivered a forceful pushback to President Donald Trump’s shedding the security clearance for former President Joe Biden – a move of “retribution” he said is "unworthy of a president."
“I’m saddened and angered that he is using security clearances as a means of revenge against political enemies, or adversaries, or generals like Mark Milley,” Blumenthal said Friday.
The comments came moments after Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he was “immediately revoking” Biden’s security clearances and stopping his intelligence briefings because “there is no need” for him to continue receiving classified information.
But Blumenthal took his criticism a step further, as he seized the opportunity on CNN’s “The Situation Room” Friday to attack Trump’s close billionaire ally Elon Musk’s invasion of the U.S. government using the newly created Department of Government Efficiency as his vessel.
“It fits the pattern that you've just articulated in the earlier story about referring a list of people who may be prosecuted as a result of Elon Musk recommending them,” Blumenthal said, referencing a report involving a U.S. attorney promising in a letter to Musk that the people he referred to the Department of Justice would be investigated.
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“Elon Musk is responsible for the biggest public corruption scandal ongoing in real time, right before our eyes, stealing information, controlling agencies that provide contracts to his companies, SpaceX and Starlink and Tesla – billions of dollars – and regulate those companies,” Blumenthal told viewers.
The Connecticut senator added that anybody worried about government corruption “should be investigating what Elon Musk is doing with DOGE.”
“And that's exactly what I am doing through the permanent subcommittee on investigations,” Blumenthal said, pointing out that letters have already been sent out “to all those companies asking what they're doing with the information, who controls it, who's involved.”
Blumenthal then concluded his interview by circling back to his outrage over Trump’s most recent move targeting his political enemies since returning to the White House last month.
“This kind of retribution really should have no place in the United States government,” he said.
Watch the clip below or at this link.
