The Pentagon on Friday revoked former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s access to classified information following an “unauthorized disclosure” to a media outlet around President Donald Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet, Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced.
“Effective immediately, the Department of War has REVOKED former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s eligibility for access to classified information and his ability to hold any sensitive position,” Parnell wrote on X.
The Pentagon spokesman said the action comes after Kendall’s “unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One’s capabilities ” to a media outlet.
Kendall told CNN in a statement late Friday evening, “I’ve been extremely careful to not say anything that could be classified, and as far as I know I have not said anything classified. So far no one has told me what I’m supposed to have revealed.”
“I have of course been very critical of the Trump administration ever since I left office in Jan. 2025,” Kendall, who was the former Air Force secretary under the Biden administration, added.
Reporting on safety concerns regarding the Qatari-gifted plane infuriated Trump, spurring an extraordinary leak investigation that included subpoenaing New York Times reporters who first reported on the issue — a move criticized by journalists and free press advocates. Officials at the White House were also asked to turn over their phones as part of the probe.
CNN previously reported Trump’s newer plane does not possess the same capabilities as the older Air Force One models to ensure the president’s safety in international settings.
Trump in his second term has repeatedly called for federal investigations over leaks to news outlets. Earlier this year, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal waged a secret legal fight to stop the US government from subpoenaing several reporters in connection with national security leak probes.
Kendall previously told CNN the new Qatari-gifted jet would’ve needed three to four years of modifications to meet the same standards as the older Boeing 747s.
Qatar donated the new jet to the Pentagon last year, and the White House has brushed aside ethical, legal and national security questions about accepting a gift worth $400 million from a foreign country.
The president has lavished praise on the retrofitted plane and flew it to Turkey in July for a NATO summit, after an initial assessment by top officials deemed it safe, sources previously told CNN. When he left Turkey, Trump opted to take the older presidential plane rather than the newer jet, spurring reporters’ scrutiny of its security deficiencies.
Despite the controversy around the new Air Force One, Trump is still expected to use the jet for domestic trips — and potentially even some international travel — before the upgrades, a source previously told CNN, citing assessments that deemed it safe to take to low-risk destinations.
By CNN
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