Civics 101 — Stay Woke

By law, does a president have the right to cancel security detail of past presidents and other high level elected officials?
Yes, the president has the right to do exactly that, and that is what President Trump has done in this last week, to, now former President Joe Biden and a list of others.
There’s some “tit for tat” going on for sure in our nation’s capital, and for some Americans, their reaction is, “it’s sad to see.”
When President Biden took office four years ago, he barred President Trump from having access to Intelligence Briefings and things of that nature that presidents in good standing, even after coming out of the White House, would normally have privy to. At the time, President Biden said his decision was based on Trump’s erratic behavior, and he didn’t feel Trump could be trusted with top-level high-security secrets related to our nation. Now that President Trump is back in the White House for a second term, he has revoked Biden’s privilege to have top-secret U.S. government information, and he’s also revoked a security detail for President Biden.
Former President Biden isn’t the only one Donald Trump has taken security clearances from. Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert who advised former president Trump during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, former national security advisor John Bolten, former secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and his top aide Brian Hook have also lost security protection, because President Trump doesn’t want them to have it anymore. Some of these decisions come, despite direct threats linked to their roles in the Donald Trump Administration.
President Trump on Saturday, February 8, 2025, told the New York Post in an exclusive interview that he would revoke the clearance of eight additional Democrats, which the newspaper wrote was meant to “punish” them. Without their clearance, the officials will not be allowed to access classified information or enter federal facilities.
The list includes: Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Biden’s deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Lawyers Andrew Weissmann, Mark Zaid and Norm Eisen.
Each of those listed was at some point involved with investigations into Trump.
James and Bragg both brought cases against Trump. James brought a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump’s real estate company ahead of the 2024 election. Trump maintains his innocence, and the judgment of now over $500 million, including interest, is on appeal.
Meanwhile, despite whatever decisions or actions Donald Trump throws Letitia James way, she continues to fight for justice.
She released a press statement on February 7, 2025, that reads in part:
New York Attorney General Letitia James today, February 7, 2025, led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the unauthorized disclosure of Americans’ private information and sensitive data. Attorney General James’ lawsuit asserts that the Trump administration illegally provided Elon Musk and the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” unauthorized access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system and therefore, to Americans’ most sensitive personal information, including bank account details and Social Security numbers. This expanded access could allow Musk and his team to block federal funds to states and programs providing health care, childcare, and other critical services. With this lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general are seeking to stop the Trump administration’s new policy that illegally grants DOGE, Musk, and others access to Americans’ confidential information and the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems.
“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘NO,’ but in our country, no one is above the law,” said Attorney General James.“President Trump does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Musk and DOGE have no authority to access Americans’ private information and some of our country’s most sensitive data. I am taking action to keep our information secure and to prevent any unconstitutional freeze on essential funding that Americans rely on every day.”
Beginning February 2, 2025, the Trump administration’s Treasury Department adopted a new policy that grants “special government employees,” including Elon Musk and members of DOGE, access to its central payment system operated by the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS). This central payment system controls vital funding that millions of Americans depend on, including Social Security payments, Veteran’s benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments, and more. The payment system also controls billions of dollars that states rely on to support essential services like law enforcement, public education, and infrastructure repairs.
Access to BFS is limited by federal law to a select group of career civil servants with the appropriate security clearances. Attorney General James and the coalition assert the Treasury Department’s new policy, which expands access to BFS’s payment system, violates the law, jeopardizes Americans’ most sensitive personal information, and would allow Elon Musk and other unauthorized political appointees to access a system that could permit them to freeze federal funds with the click of a button in violation of the Constitution.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general are seeking an injunction preventing the Trump administration from continuing its new policy of expanded access to BFS’s payment system, as well as a declaration that the Treasury Department’s policy change is unlawful and unconstitutional.
Stay woke Scoop Readers. Stay woke. When people tell you to stop watching the news, it’s “too upsetting,” I say stay woke Scoop Readers. Stay woke.