in effect
This is Executive Order 14152, signed January 20, 2025, and published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2025. It directs the revocation of security clearances held by specific named former government officials and orders a follow-up investigation and report.
The Director of National Intelligence, working with the Director of the CIA, must immediately revoke any current or active security clearances held by 50 named individuals — a group the order describes as former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter about the Hunter Biden laptop story, plus former National Security Advisor John R. Bolton (named for publishing a memoir the order says contained sensitive information). The order notes two other signatories are deceased and are not affected. Within 90 days, the DNI (with the CIA Director) must give the President, through the National Security Advisor, a report covering any further inappropriate Intelligence Community activity tied to the letter, recommendations to prevent the Intelligence Community from influencing domestic elections, and any disciplinary actions — including clearance terminations — that should be taken. The order also states three policies: that the Intelligence Community stay out of partisan politics and campaigns, that clearance holders not use their status to influence elections, and that classified information not be disclosed in memoirs, especially for personal profit. Standard closing provisions say it creates no legal rights and is carried out subject to available funding and existing law.
The 50 named individuals lose any active security clearances immediately; the list includes former intelligence leaders such as James Clapper, Michael Hayden, Leon Panetta, and John Brennan, along with John Bolton. The Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the CIA are responsible for carrying out the revocations and producing the 90-day report. More broadly, the order sets stated policy limits on how the Intelligence Community and clearance holders may act in elections and how they may handle classified information.