A former Air Force secretary just got caught allegedly leaking classified information about the president's plane, and the same press corps that screams "threats to democracy" every time an outsider challenges the system can barely muster a headline.
The Pentagon on Friday revoked Frank Kendall's eligibility to access classified material and barred him from holding any sensitive position, accusing him of unauthorized disclosure of information about Air Force One's capabilities to a media outlet. Kendall, who served as Air Force secretary under Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, told the Associated Press he was "completely mystified" by the move and insisted he has "not said anything classified." Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wasn't buying it: "Safeguarding classified information is a non-negotiable duty. Those who violate that trust forfeit the privilege of access and any role requiring it."
The revocation stems from reporting last month by The New York Times on security concerns surrounding the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747 now serving as Air Force One. The Times reported that the $400 million retrofit aircraft lacked the advanced antimissile capabilities of its predecessor and that President Trump switched to an older model for his departure from the NATO summit in Turkey — reportedly at the urging of the Secret Service — as the U.S. launched airstrikes on Iran. In that Times article, Kendall was quoted saying the time for upgrades would not have been enough for "all the normal Air Force One modifications" and that he was surprised the plane was used outside the U.S.
Kendall told the AP late Friday: "I've been comfortable being on the record with reporters and on national television about the Qatari 747 because I'm confident that I haven't said anything classified." He also said no one has told him what he is alleged to have revealed.
Here's the part the establishment press doesn't want to dwell on: the Air Force itself has acknowledged the Qatari jet's limitations. The service admitted that "several highly complex engineering modifications" required for the U.S.-made Air Force One were intentionally excluded from the Qatar plane's conversion, including widened doors and multiple built-in stairs. So the Air Force concedes the plane is different, but a former secretary talking about those differences publicly is the one who gets his clearance yanked.
The New York Post framed the story as a straightforward leak prosecution, noting the Trump administration's subpoena of Times journalists and Pete Hegseth's creation of a joint task force to prosecute leakers. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review buried the more uncomfortable detail: the Justice Department withdrew those subpoenas last month after a judge criticized sloppy legal work, and the revocations are part of a broader pattern — 37 current and former national security officials had clearances pulled last year, and Hegseth stripped Gen. Mark Milley's protections shortly after taking office.
The double standard is the story. When an insider like Kendall — a creature of the Biden Pentagon — allegedly leaks classified details about the president's aircraft, it's a one-day wire story. When outsiders challenge the system, it's a week-long moral panic about democracy itself. The same media that demanded sources be protected when the subpoenas targeted their reporters has little to say when one of the swamp's own appears to have been the source of the problem.
The open question: if Kendall's on-the-record comments to the Times weren't classified, what exactly did he disclose? The Pentagon isn't saying. And the press isn't asking.
