US voids 1954 revoking of J Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance

Biden administration says 1954 decision that ended atomic bomb scientist’s career was part of ‘flawed process’

The Biden administration has overturned a 1954 decision that revoked the security clearance of J Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist credited as a key architect of the atomic bomb who was caught up in the Red Scare over communism in US politics.

The US energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, wrote in a statement published on Friday that the original decision by the Atomic Energy Commission on Oppenheimer’s security clearance had been part of a “flawed process that violated the Commission’s own regulations”.