The Pentagon has accused a former Air Force secretary of exposing classified information about the aircraft carrying the president of the United States—an extraordinary allegation emerging amid a widening government hunt for officials who speak to the press.

Frank Kendall, who led the Air Force under President Joe Biden, has been stripped of his eligibility to access classified material and barred from holding sensitive government positions.

The announcement came Friday from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who accused Kendall of making an unauthorized disclosure involving Air Force One.

“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.

“This action follows his unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding Air Force One’s capabilities to a media outlet.”

Parnell offered no publicly available details about what Kendall allegedly disclosed, when the reported conversation occurred or what evidence connected him to the information.

No criminal charge against Kendall was announced in the material provided, and the accusation has not been tested in court. Revoking access is an administrative action and does not, by itself, establish criminal wrongdoing.

Kendall did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Post.

The accusation appears connected to an intensifying controversy surrounding a luxurious Boeing 747 reportedly gifted by Qatar to President Donald Trump and refurbished for presidential use.

The jet, valued at approximately $400 million, immediately triggered questions about ethics, ownership, security and the extraordinary challenge of converting a foreign-provided aircraft into a platform capable of transporting the commander-in-chief.

Those concerns exploded after Trump reportedly flew into Turkey aboard the Qatari plane for a NATO summit but returned on a different aircraft.

The New York Times reported that the jet had been swapped as a “security precaution.” According to that reporting, concerns existed that it had not been retrofitted with sufficient protective measures before entering service as Air Force One.

Lawmakers reportedly questioned whether the aircraft had received an advanced missile-defense system and other crucial modifications.

The precise capabilities and vulnerabilities of presidential aircraft are among the most sensitive subjects in national security. Public disclosure of defensive systems could potentially help hostile governments understand how the plane might detect, avoid or survive an attack.

At the same time, basic questions about whether a foreign-supplied jet was adequately secured before carrying the president are matters of enormous public interest.

That tension—between protecting legitimate secrets and exposing possible government failures—now sits at the center of the confrontation.

The Trump administration subpoenaed several New York Times journalists last month after the newspaper published its report about the aircraft swap. The supplied information does not specify precisely what records or testimony the government demanded from those journalists.

Days later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon and Justice Department were establishing a joint task force to identify and prosecute officials who leak sensitive information to news organizations.

The action against Kendall suggests that the campaign has now reached the highest levels of former military leadership.

Kendall served as Air Force secretary from July 2021 until January 2025. In that role, he oversaw the service during a period of escalating technological competition, modernization efforts and concern over the United States’ ability to counter China and other adversaries.

His former position would have given him access to highly sensitive information.

But the Pentagon’s public statement leaves essential questions unanswered.

What exact statement did Kendall allegedly make?

Was the information classified when it was disclosed?

Did Kendall knowingly provide it without authorization?

And was the information itself a genuine operational secret—or evidence of a security problem the public had a right to know about?

The government’s answers will determine whether the case is viewed as a necessary defense of national security or an attempt to frighten former officials and journalists investigating an embarrassing episode.

Parnell presented the decision as a matter of duty rather than politics.

“Safeguarding classified information is a non-negotiable duty,” he wrote. “Those who violate that trust forfeit the privilege of access and any role requiring it.”

That principle is broadly accepted. Officials entrusted with national secrets cannot disclose them simply because they disagree with an administration or want to influence a news story.

But accusations of leaking can also be weaponized.

Revoking a former official’s clearance before publicly presenting evidence can damage a reputation immediately, while the underlying facts remain hidden behind the same classification system at the center of the dispute.

The involvement of journalists raises additional concerns about press freedom. Reporters routinely receive information from government sources, particularly when investigating national-security failures. Aggressively pursuing their communications can chill whistleblowing and discourage scrutiny of official conduct.

The administration argues that sensitive military information must be protected regardless of who discloses it. Critics will question whether the enforcement effort is being applied consistently—or aimed disproportionately at officials associated with Biden and news organizations viewed as hostile to Trump.

For now, Kendall stands accused but not publicly charged.

His access is gone. His ability to hold sensitive positions has been eliminated. And his name has been attached to one of the most serious allegations that can be made against a former national-security official.

Behind the accusation is an even larger mystery:

Why did the president arrive aboard a $400 million foreign-gifted aircraft—and leave on a different plane?