Frank Kendall spent three and a half years running the Air Force and just got caught leaking secrets about Air Force One.
Friday night, the Pentagon put a name on the leak everyone already suspected.
Now Kendall claims he has no idea why his clearance is gone.
Pentagon Revokes Frank Kendall's Security Clearance Over Air Force One Leak
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell made the announcement on X.
"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.
He didn't soften it.
"This action follows his unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One's capabilities to a media outlet," Parnell continued.
"Safeguarding classified information is a non-negotiable duty."
"Those who violate that trust forfeit the privilege of access and any role requiring it."
He did that job for Joe Biden, from mid-2021 until Trump's inauguration in January 2025.
Now he's the man Trump's Pentagon says compromised security on the plane Trump flies today.
Kendall told the Associated Press he was "completely mystified" by the revocation.
He claims he's "always been extremely careful to not say anything classified."
That's a strange thing to say about a story where he was quoted on the record.
The Wall Street Journal is the outlet that broke this open, comparing what the Qatari-gifted 747 can do against the older Air Force One jets it replaced.
Kendall was one of the former officials quoted in that piece.
The Journal found the new jet can't refuel in midair and isn't built to survive a nuclear blast like its predecessor, with weaker defenses, thinner baggage and food storage, and different air stairs all spelled out for the world to read.
Democrats spent years lecturing Trump about national security discipline.
Now one of their own guys is accused of handing foreign adversaries a rundown of what the plane can and can't survive.
The Pattern Goes Back to Mark Milley's Clearance and the New York Times Subpoenas
This didn't happen in a vacuum.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth stood up a joint Pentagon–DOJ task force last month specifically to hunt down leakers like this.
"To leak sensitive national defense information is to betray our warriors and put them in danger," Hegseth said announcing the task force.
He gave his Office of General Counsel authority to pull records from anywhere in the department within 48 hours.
Last month, DOJ took the rare step of subpoenaing several New York Times reporters over this exact Air Force One coverage.
Most Pentagon reporters gave up their badges rather than sign Hegseth's pledge not to solicit unauthorized material.
They'd rather quit than promise to stop digging for things they're not supposed to have – that tells you everything.
Kendall isn't the first Biden-era official to lose access under this administration.
Trump's team pulled clearances from 37 former national security officials last year.
Hegseth stripped protection from retired Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley not long after taking over.
The message from day one has been the same – Biden's people don't get to keep the keys to the building on their way out.
Why Frank Kendall Hasn't Been Charged Under the Espionage Act
Here's what fires me up about this – Parnell didn't say a word about prosecution, and that silence is doing a lot of talking.
Leakers who get caught usually walk straight into an Espionage Act referral.
A 21-year-old Air National Guardsman got 15 years for leaking war documents on Discord.
Edward Snowden ran to Russia rather than face that same law.
Kendall ran the branch of the military that flies America's nuclear bombers, and so far he's only lost a badge.
Ask yourself why the man who ran that branch gets a polite press release while a 21-year-old on Discord gets a decade and a half in federal prison.
That gap won't stay open forever.
If the Pentagon finds this disclosure was worse than Friday's statement let on, Kendall's "mystified" act is going to look very different in a courtroom.
For three and a half years, Kendall told the country to take security seriously.
Friday night, his own department decided he couldn't be trusted with the job he spent years lecturing everyone else about.
Sources:
- Sean Parnell, statement via X, Department of War, Aug. 7, 2026.
- "Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has security clearance revoked over Air Force One disclosure," Fox News, Aug. 7, 2026.
- "Pentagon Revokes Former Air Force Secretary's Access to Classified Data After Alleged Leak," The Epoch Times, Aug. 7, 2026.
- "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Launches Task Force to Hunt Media Leaks," Military.com, July 2026.
