Just hours after his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders, including one intended to “hold former government officials accountable for … improper disclosure of sensitive governmental information.”

As the document explained, part of the goal of the order was to revoke the security clearances of 51 former intelligence officials who believed the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop could’ve been Russian disinformation. Or put another way, the new president, on his first day back in the White House, was predictably eager to settle some old scores.

But none of those officials disclosed “sensitive” governmental information. According to the executive order, however, former White House national security adviser John Bolton did:

… Bolton published a memoir for monetary gain after he was terminated from his White House position in 2019. The book was rife with sensitive information drawn from his time in government. The memoir’s reckless treatment of sensitive information undermined the ability of future presidents to request and obtain candid advice on matters of national security from their staff. Publication also created a grave risk that classified material was publicly exposed.

So, a couple of things.

First, the accusations against Bolton, which first came to the fore five years ago, are dubious. In fact, a former career official with the National Security Council, who was initially responsible for reviewing Bolton’s book before its release, determined that the text did not include classified information.

That same official later accused Trump political appointees of “commandeering” the book-review process “for a seemingly political purpose” — specifically to go after Bolton because of his criticisms of his former boss.

But even if we were to put this aside, there’s a related problem: If anyone in the United States should avoid picking a fight over “improper disclosure of sensitive governmental information,” it’s the newly inaugurated president.

In case anyone’s forgotten, it was just a couple of years ago when Trump was criminally indicted for bringing classified documents to his glorified country club and ignoring a federal subpoena to give them back. According to the indictment, the Republican kept sensitive documents that included information “regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack.”

Prosecutors added, “The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”

Trump also allegedly stored boxes containing classified documents in a variety of unsecured locations at Mar-a-Lago, including “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.”

But wait, there’s more. If the new White House team is sincerely concerned about “improper disclosure of sensitive governmental information,” perhaps Trump and his aides might be interested in my top 10 list chronicling instances in which the president was accused of improperly disclosing sensitive governmental information:

#10. In May 2017, Trump had a chat with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in which the Republican shared information about dispatching two nuclear submarines off the coast of the Korean peninsula. By one account, Pentagon officials were “in shock“ over Trump’s willingness to share such information. “We never talk about subs!” three officials told BuzzFeed News, referring to the military’s belief that keeping submarines’ movements secret is key to their mission.

#9. In July 2019, Trump had an unsecured conversation with U.S. Ambassador to the E.U. Gordon Sondland, while the ambassador was in a Ukrainian restaurant within earshot of others, in which Trump sought information on Ukraine helping target the president’s domestic political opponents. Larry Pfeiffer, a former senior director of the White House Situation Room and a former chief of staff to the CIA director, said of the call, “The security ramifications are insane.”

#8. According to evidence gathered by the special counsel’s office, Trump showed a classified map to a representative of his political action committee, and then made matters slightly worse by showing a highly confidential war plan to a writer. (“Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,” Trump was recorded saying, adding, “Isn’t that incredible? … It’s so cool.”)

#7. In February 2017, Trump discussed sensitive details about North Korea’s ballistic missile tests with the prime minister of Japan at a Mar-a-Lago dining area, in view of wealthy civilians/customers.

#6. In early October 2019, Trump publicly discussed American nuclear weapons in Turkey, something U.S. officials have traditionally avoided disclosing and/or confirming.

#5. In August 2019, Trump published a tweet about a failed Iranian launch, which included a detailed photo. As MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported, it wasn’t long before experts marveled at Trump’s recklessness with classified material.

#4. In October 2019, Trump needlessly blurted out all kinds of tactical and operational details about the al-Baghdadi mission in Syria. As NBC News reported at the time, “A few of those colorful details were wrong. Many of the rest were either highly classified or tactically sensitive, and their disclosure by the president made intelligence and military officials cringe, according to current and former U.S. officials.”

#3. In 2020, Trump disclosed the existence of a secret nuclear weapons program to Bob Woodward, to the surprise of national security insiders.

#2. In 2021, Trump allegedly shared classified information about American nuclear submarines with an Australian businessman, who allegedly proceeded to share the sensitive details with several others, for no apparent reason. The disclosures, the New York Times reported, “potentially endangered the U.S. nuclear fleet.”

#1. Just four months into Trump’s first term, the Republican welcomed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak into the Oval Office — at the request of Russia’s Vladimir Putin — for a visit that was never fully explained.

It was in this meeting that Trump revealed highly classified information to his Russian guests for no apparent reason. The Washington Post reported at the time, “The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the U.S. government, officials said.”

The Wall Street Journal added, “According to one U.S. official, the information shared was highly sensitive and difficult to acquire and was considered extraordinarily valuable.” It’s never been altogether clear why Trump simply handed this to Putin’s representatives.

This list, incidentally, is not comprehensive. There are other examples.

By the reasoning of Trump’s executive order, shouldn’t he be taking away his own security clearance?

This post updates our related earlier coverage.