Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently lost his government security detail, multiple outlets reported Wednesday, making him the latest former government employee to lose security under President Donald Trump.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper (C) arrives for a bilateral meeting with Turkish Defense Minister on ... [+]
The security detail for Esper—who is facing threats from Iran related to work done during Trump’s first term—was removed Tuesday night, CBS News reported, citing an unnamed Defense Department official.
Esper worked as the defense secretary from July 2019 until November 2020, and he had previously served as the secretary of the Army.
Trump told reporters last month after revoking the security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci that, “when you work for government, at some point your security detail comes off … you can’t have them forever.”
When asked if he would feel “partially responsible” if something were to happen to people whose security was pulled, Trump said no, and added: “They all made a lot of money they can hire their own security, too … certainly I would not take responsibility.”
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Trump’s former secretary of state Mike Pompeo lost his security detail after Trump returned to the White House, as did his former national security adviser John Bolton. Former special envoy to Iran Brian Hook—who, like Pompeo, has been threatened by Iran because of his actions while serving under Trump, The New York Times reported—lost his security detail, too. Fauci’s security detail—which was revoked in late January—was reportedly provided and paid for by the National Institutes of Health, and CNN reported he hired his own private security.
Fauci received a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden, in a highly controversial action that came just hours before he left office. Biden said Fauci, along with the other people he preemptively pardoned, like General Mark Milley and members of the Jan. 6 House committee, “have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.” In the statement announcing the pardons, Biden praised Fauci for saving “countless lives by managing the government’s response to pressing health crises.” After the pardon, Fauci told CNN he was grateful but had done nothing wrong, “certainly nothing criminal.” Fauci received significant criticism from Republicans during the COVID-19 pandemic for his handling of the nation’s response, particularly his calls for wearing a mask and practicing social distancing measures to mitigate the spread, which remains in line with medical consensus. In a committee hearing last year, Fauci was accused of misleading the country about the origins of the virus, though he called the accusation “simply preposterous.”
Trump was sworn into office Jan. 20 for his second term and quickly got to work. He signed more than 20 executive orders on his first day in office, ranging from pardoning people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to pulling out of the World Health Organization. Trump also promptly began trying to clear the government of people who do not align with his “America First” agenda. Trump placed all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees on paid leave after issuing an executive order seeking to dismantle DEI policies government-wide. More than 150 National Security Council aides were sent home and told to remain available, but not report to the White House while the administration reviews staffing, the Associated Press reported. The president also revoked the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter that said Hunter Biden’s laptop scandal had “classic earmarks” of Russian interference, and removed a portrait of Milley from the Pentagon.
Biden Issues Preemptive Pardons For Trump Foes Fauci, Milley And Jan. 6 Committee (Forbes)
Trump has pulled Fauci’s security detail, source says (CNN)
Trump Revokes Security Detail for Mark Esper, Former Defense Secretary (The New York Times)