President Donald Trump on Friday announced he is revoking former President Joe Biden’s security clearances and stopping his daily intelligence briefings.
“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Friday night.
The privileges will be revoked immediately, according to the President.
He added the precedent was set by Biden himself.
“He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents,” Trump wrote.
The president noted the Hur Report, which he claimed “revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information,” according to the post.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Trump said he will always protect National Security.
“JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” he wrote.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.
Moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, revealed her plan to support Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on Monday evening.
“After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence,” she said in a statement.
“As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence Community. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, however, has become far larger than it was designed to be, and Ms. Gabbard shares my vision of returning the agency to its intended size. In response to my questions during our discussion in my office and at the open hearing, as well as through her explanation at the closed hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Ms. Gabbard addressed my concerns regarding her views on Edward Snowden. I look forward to working with Ms. Gabbard to strengthen our national security.”
RFK JR SPENT WEEKEND TALKING TO KEY SENATOR WHO COULD MAKE OR BREAK HIS CONFIRMATION
Collins said she would vote to advance Gabbard’s nomination.(Reuters)
Collins sits on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which will embark on a pivotal vote on Gabbard’s nomination on Tuesday, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The Maine Republican has developed a reputation for occasionally bucking her party, most recently doing so on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote.
Her support for Gabbard at the committee level was thus far from certain.
SEN. TILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT ROLE IN PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AFTER HEGSETH’S EX-SISTER-IN-LAW’S ALLEGATIONS
Collins voted against Pete Hegseth.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
She joins a handful of other committee Republicans who have already said they will vote to advance Gabbard to the Senate floor, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and James Lankford, R-Okla.
However, another GOP senator on the committee is still considered one to watch, as Gabbard is expected to need all of the Republican members’ votes to move forward.
DEMS DISMISS CALLS FOR APOLOGY AFTER JEFFRIES VOWS ‘FIGHT’ AGAINST TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’
Young hasn’t revealed how he plans to vote.(Alex Wong)
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., hasn’t said how he plans to vote in committee. Because of this, he’s managed to garner the criticism of Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk, who recently claimed on X that Young is a “deep state puppet” in regard to his uncertainty about Gabbard. The post has since been deleted.
A spokesperson for Young told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Senator Young and Mr. Musk had a great conversation on a number of subjects and policy areas where they have a shared interest, like DOGE.”
ELIZABETH WARREN GRILLED RFK JR ON DRUG COMPANY MONEY, BUT RECEIVED OVER $5M FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY
Musk spoke with Young on the phone.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Musk also shared on X over the weekend, explaining, “Just had an excellent conversation with [Young]. I stand corrected. Senator Young will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy.”
While Collins’ support bodes well for Gabbard’s fate at the committee level, it also forecasts a better outlook among the full Senate, given her vote against Hegseth. If she advances to a floor vote, Gabbard can afford to lose just three Republican votes, assuming she does not get any Democratic backing.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of top former intelligence officials are urging members of the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, saying she will “begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies,” Fox News Digital has learned.
Former White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, former Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Navy SEAL veteran and member of the intelligence community Erik Prince and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., on Monday, obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.
TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’
“We, the undersigned former intelligence and national security officials, urge members of the United States Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard to serve as President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence,” they wrote. “Her service as DNI will begin undoing the gross politicization that has come to characterize intelligence bureaucracies, which has been to the great detriment of the freedom and security of the United States and its citizens.”
Tulsi Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments.(Getty Images)
The officials said Gabbard’s experience “more than qualifies her for this important position.”
Gabbard is a military officer with more than 20 years of service and multiple combat deployments. She also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years and served on numerous national security committees.
The officials said Gabbard was “an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms.”
“In both these roles, she experienced first-hand how intelligence, when used as intended, provides critical support to America’s military and political leaders,” they wrote. “When intelligence was abused, Lt. Col. Gabbard spoke up and insisted on safeguards.”
The officials said Tulsi Gabbard, here with President Donald Trump, was “an outspoken champion for America’s warriors and for our cherished constitutional freedoms.” (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
PATEL, GABBARD TO APPEAR BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEES NEXT WEEK
The officials said that “in contrast to the many former senior intelligence officials who politicized their profession and disgraced themselves by running misinformation operations to undermine the President of the United States—such as by signing the infamous Biden laptop ‘Russian disinformation’ letter or appearing on partisan programs to knowingly mislead the public with false claims of inside knowledge and access to classified information—Lt. Col. Gabbard stood up for truth, integrity, and following the facts.”
The officials said those are “precisely the values necessary for the leader of the intelligence community.”
“As former collectors, analysts, consumers, and enablers of intelligence, we support Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard to lead the IC,” they wrote. “She has the integrity, and moral courage, to restore objectivity and professionalism to the nation’s intelligence agencies.”
Former National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien and more than four dozen other former intelligence officials penned a letter on Monday, urging members of the Senate to confirm Tulsi Gabbard. (Eloisa Lopez/pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The letter comes as Gabbard has come under scrutiny from some senators who have been critical of her intelligence experience.
But allies of Gabbard have defended her record, and said it is critical that someone with “fresh eyes” and “without bias” lead the intelligence community. They also have argued that Gabbard knows, firsthand, the consequences of inaccurate intelligence, given her service in the War on Terror.
TULSI GABBARD CHANGES TUNE ON CONTROVERSIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOL FOLLOWING GOP LOBBYING
“She has seen the true cost of war,” a source close to Gabbard’s confirmation process told Fox News Digital.
“It is a strength, not a weakness, that she doesn’t have direct prior intel agency experience,” the source continued. “She has been a consumer during her time deployed overseas–but not having direct agency background is a strength as she will come in with clear eyes and no bias to the intel community which needs to regain the trust of the American people and not be used as a political tool weaponized against them.”
Ric Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence, speaks in July 2024. He was another name on the letter to Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Mark Warner, D-Va. (Mike Segar/Reuters )
Gabbard’s confirmation hearing with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is scheduled to take place Thursday morning.
Trump has argued that Gabbard will bring a “fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights and securing Peace through Strength.”
The director of national intelligence leads the U.S. intelligence community, which includes overseeing the National Intelligence Program and advising the president on security matters.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Gabbard has served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves since 2021, after previously serving in the Hawaii Army National Guard for about 17 years. She was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after she entered the 2020 White House race.
Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent before becoming a member of the GOP in 2024 and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign.
Gabbard has received the support of dozens of national security officials, and in December received endorsements from more than 250 veterans, including high-profile names such as retired Gen. Michael Flynn and former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.
Please enter a valid email address.
TEL AVIV, Israel – With the first three Israeli hostages freed in the cease-fire for hostages deal, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned that several terrorists captured by Israeli forces last month confessed that Israeli captives were held at different times at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) recently completed a major raid on the hospital, arresting some 240 terrorists. The director of the hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, the Israelis claim, had gathered intelligence showing that he not only allowed Hamas to infiltrate the hospital, but actively collaborated with the terror group.
Another captured terrorist, Anas Muhammad Faiz al-Sharif, who worked at the hospital as a cleaning supervisor and joined the Nukhba forces of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades in 2021, told Israeli interrogators that the northern Gaza facility was viewed as “a safe haven for them because the [Israeli] military cannot directly target it.”
He revealed that inside the hospital, terrorists distributed grenades and mortars, along with equipment for ambushing IDF troops and tanks.
UN ACCUSED OF DOWNPLAYING HAMAS TERRORISTS’ USE OF GAZA HOSPITALS AS NEW REPORT IGNORES IMPORTANT DETAILS
IDF troops located weapons, classified documents, and tactical communications equipment from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, used by Hamas as a terror command center.(IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Fox News Digital asked a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman if, based on the IDF’s new allegations about holding hostages at Adwan Hospital, they would condemn Hamas’ use of hospitals for military use.
In a statement, the spokesman said, “The International Humanitarian Law is very clear. Healthcare workers and healthcare facilities are off limits. They must not be attacked. They must not be used for military purposes. They must be protected at all times. The point is both to protect civilians, as well as to protect the health systems and infrastructure that communities depend on for life-giving care and continuity of services.
“Failure to protect and respect healthcare devastates twice. First, in the initial harm, and then again for the months or years it takes to rebuild the health systems.”
The statement concluded without condemning or singling out Hamas. “The protection of healthcare also includes the prohibition against combatants using health facilities for military purposes. IHL is also clear that even if healthcare facilities are being used for military purposes, there are stringent conditions which apply to taking action against them, including a duty to warn and to wait after warning and even then, disproportionate attacks are strictly prohibited.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Trump National Security Council official, claimed, “Several international organizations operating in Gaza likely had direct knowledge of Hamas using hospitals as terror headquarters and only publicly protested Israel’s attempt to clear the terrorists. The Red Cross, UNRWA, World Health Organization – they were all collaborators.”
Ambulances carrying patients from Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahya, northern Gaza Strip since services stopped within 24 hours due to lack of fuel, arrive at Shifa Hospital, accompanied by UN teams, in Gaza City, Gaza, on Oct. 12, 2024.(Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Goldberg offered advice for President Trump’s pick for U.N. ambassador, Elise Stefanik, who goes before the Senate on Tuesday. “Stefanik would be fully justified in launching investigations into each of those agencies – demanding documents and personnel interviews. And if they don’t comply, they can deal with the consequences.”
One of Trump’s first acts on Monday was to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO.
During the monthslong IDF operation in northern Gaza, more than 700 terrorists were detained, including Hamas commanders, some of whom participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. More than a dozen of those captured were involved in kidnapping or holding Israeli hostages in Gaza.
During the operation, the IDF located and destroyed thousands of weapons, including RPGs stashed within the hospital itself. The aim of the campaign was to completely defeat Hamas’s Northern Brigade and remove the terror group’s presence from within the civilian population. IDF troops conducted raids ranging from a few hours up to a full day. During the longer ones, they entered the hospital and searched for weapons and terrorists.
Former Shin Bet agent Gonen Ben Itzhak, who was the handler of former Hamas informant Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder, told Fox News Digital that, “Using visual intelligence, it’s easy to see when Hamas brings guns and ammunition into the hospital … and even with one human source, you can get intel on what is happening inside. From a signal point of view, the terrorists use phones and walkie-talkies, which can be intercepted.”
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION SILENT OVER HAMAS’ USE OF GAZA HOSPITAL AS TERROR HQ
The IDF shows weapons seized during an ongoing operation to clear terrorists from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.(IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Almost no fighting took place inside the hospital, from which some 950 people were eventually evacuated, all before the IDF’s final raid. Since then, the Israeli military has facilitated and secured the transfer of the hospital’s operations to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, at the request of the Palestinians.
Even as the United Nations and the international community condemned Jerusalem for its anti-terrorism campaign at Kamal Adwan, a former Palestinian Authority official, told Fox News Digital that Hamas’ use of hospitals was “immoral” and known to endanger patients and health workers.
Adnan al-Damiri recently went viral on social media after the Israel-based Palestinian Media Watch organization flagged his Facebook post showing that Hamas had summoned a Gazan reporter for questioning to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Strip.
Photo showing weapons found inside and around Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza by IDF troops.(IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
“I made this post to show Palestinians that Hamas is doing everything against the people of Gaza, including in hospitals. Hamas claims its struggle is against the [Israeli] occupation, but the fact is they use our people,” al-Damiri said. He noted that the document posted to social media was sent to him by a friend of the Gazan who was summoned for interrogation.
“I know that it’s a real document. I am not afraid of Hamas,” he added.
CEASE-FIRE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS GETTING CLOSER AMID CONCERNS TERROR GROUP REARMING IN GAZA
In December 2023, Ahmed Kahlout, then-director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, told his Israeli interrogators that he and other staff were Hamas operatives. Kahlout described how Hamas used ambulances to hide operatives, transport terrorist squads and deliver a kidnapped IDF soldier.
Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau in Gaza, told Fox News Digital that his “resistance movement understands very well the importance of respecting international humanitarian law and its obligations, and understands very well the needs of our people for civil services and the importance of protecting them.
The bodies of Noa Marciano, pictured here, and Yehudit Weiss were discovered by the IDF in the vicinity of Shifa Hospital last year.(Courtesy: Bring Them Home Now)
“I can confidently say that Hamas hasn’t used any hospital as a military base or a shelter for fighters,” he continued. “Regarding all the aggressions against hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Israel wasn’t able in any case to prove or to give serious or neutral evidence for its claims,” he said.
“We call for the immediate release of Dr. Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, who was kidnapped by Israeli forces, with dozens of other medics. Israel is fully responsible and accountable for their lives. Dr. Safiya isn’t a Hamas member,” added Naim.
Hamas terrorists emerging from the shadows as they surround Red Cross vehicles.(TPS-IL)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
A month after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, the IDF already began publishing evidence of Hamas’s use of hospitals, in particular, for terror purposes. In one recording from November 2023, a Gaza health official can be heard confirming that Hamas had stored more than half a million liters (over 132,000 gallons) of fuel under Shifa Hospital, the Strip’s largest medical center.
Hamas was accused of systematically turning Shifa into a major command center and even storing weapons in the MRI building. On Nov. 19, 2023, the IDF released surveillance footage of armed terrorists bringing hostages into Shifa. The IDF discovered the remains of two Israeli hostages, Noa Marciano and Yehudit Weiss, in the vicinity of Shifa last year.
