Biden-era Air Force secretary vows to sue Trump to regain security clearance

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is getting ready to sue the Trump administration after the Pentagon took away his security clearance over claims he gave classified information about the Qatari-donated plane that is currently serving as Air Force One.

Kendall, who served as Air Force secretary under President Joe Biden, said he was surprised by the decision and denied any intent to leak classified information. He said he did not learn about the revocation from the government directly but from a Pentagon announcement on social media.

Frank Kendall says he was given no chance to respond

Speaking to CNN, Kendall said he was initially unable to understand why his clearance had been revoked.

"I was initially mystified, because I couldn't think of anything I'd ever said that was classified, and I had tried very hard not to say anything classified and was quite sure I had not," Kendall told Erin Burnett on 'OutFront.'

Kendall's security clearance was pulled after he spoke to The New York Times last month on safety concerns with the new Air Force One converted from a gifted Qatari luxury jet.

Kendall warned the retrofitted plane had "a lot of shortfalls" compared with the older aircraft used as Air Force One and posed "a measure of risk."

"I don't know anything about that airplane," Kendall said of the Qatari jet now serving as Air Force One. "I have made the observation that an airplane that you've spent one year on and $400 million will not be as capable as an airplane you spend five years on and $2 billion. That's inherently obvious."

Legal action for the future

Kendall said he believes the administration targeted him as he's been a very vocal critic since he left office. Kendall served as the Air Force secretary from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden administration.

"I'm gonna sue them. That's what's next for me," Kendall said of next steps.

"What happens to me is not terribly important. This does not have an enormous impact on me. I will lose some income because of it, and I will lose some opportunities because of it, but, you know, this is one of over a hundred cases where our government has taken away people's security clearances very arbitrarily, often for political reasons, as a way to attack political enemies, apparently."

Kendall added that he's already hired Mark Zaid as an attorney and is confident that there was no legitimate basis to remove his clearance and no due process provided to him.

"Nobody from the government ever talked to me about this. Nobody asked me any questions. I have no idea what they think I said. I've had no opportunity to defend myself. Those are just basic due process rights that we should all have as Americans," he said. “As my mother taught me years ago, you stand up to bullies, and I'm gonna try to get this overturned. I think I have a very sound basis to do that."

Mark Zaid, a prominent national security attorney who sued the administration after his own clearance was revoked by the Trump administration, confirmed in a post on X that Kendall had hired him. "More to come," Zaid wrote.