New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani acknowledged Monday that he does not have a federal security clearance, one day after claiming he had been “briefed” about the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
At a press briefing, a reporter pressed him directly: “You don’t have federal security clearance yet, and has anyone from a federal agency reached out to you or members of your team to begin the vetting to get federal security clearance?”
Mamdani initially pointed to his own staff. “That briefing, yes, was conducted by my team,” he said, before the reporter narrowed it down: “So you do have it?”
“No, not as yet,” Mamdani admitted.
The exchange followed his earlier public statement declaring: “I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife…”—language that fueled online jokes that he had overstated his access.
Watch the clip below:
Zohran Mamdani is cornered and forced to admit that he has no security clearance and was not “briefed” on arrest of Maduro.
Someone on his team opened X and read a couple of tweets to him. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ngeD5N0oEM
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) January 6, 2026
“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” Mamdani wrote on X.
I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.
Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2026
More over at Fox News:
NO CLEARANCE: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted Monday he lacks federal security clearance after claiming he was briefed on Nicolas Maduro's capture. The admission sparked viral social media backlash. https://t.co/XWeyuNJCN3
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 6, 2026