Kushner gets permanent security clearance after more than a year delay
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has received a permanent security clearance more than a year after he joined the Trump administration, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Kushner had been operating with an interim clearance until now.
A source told the Times that Kushner’s clearance was approved by career staffers at the FBI after the agency completed his background check.
The source added that President Trump was not involved in the process.
t was revealed that Kushner had been operating with an interim security clearance for more than a year in February.
Kushner's status became public amid questions about how former staff secretary Rob Porter was working in the White House without a full security clearance. Porter had only been given an interim clearance after the FBI was made aware of abuse allegations from his ex-wives.
Kushner’s security clearance at the time was downgraded from top secret to a significantly lower level of access, effectively cutting him off from reviewing some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence.
The White House defended the lengthy process for issuing a permanent clearance to Kushner, citing the senior adviser’s myriad business dealings and complicated finances.
But the process still raised questions about whether the FBI had held off on issuing the permanent clearance because of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Part of that investigation is examining meetings Kushner attended in 2016 with Russian representatives and officials.
Abbe Lowell, Kushner’s attorney, told the Times that the special counsel investigation was not responsible for the delays in issuing the security clearance.
“With respect to the news about his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process,” Lowell told the Times. “Having completed all of these processes, he’s looking forward to continuing to do the work the president has asked him to do.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...ent-security-clearance-after-more-than-a-year
.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has received a permanent security clearance more than a year after he joined the Trump administration, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Kushner had been operating with an interim clearance until now.
A source told the Times that Kushner’s clearance was approved by career staffers at the FBI after the agency completed his background check.
The source added that President Trump was not involved in the process.
t was revealed that Kushner had been operating with an interim security clearance for more than a year in February.
Kushner's status became public amid questions about how former staff secretary Rob Porter was working in the White House without a full security clearance. Porter had only been given an interim clearance after the FBI was made aware of abuse allegations from his ex-wives.
Kushner’s security clearance at the time was downgraded from top secret to a significantly lower level of access, effectively cutting him off from reviewing some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence.
The White House defended the lengthy process for issuing a permanent clearance to Kushner, citing the senior adviser’s myriad business dealings and complicated finances.
But the process still raised questions about whether the FBI had held off on issuing the permanent clearance because of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Part of that investigation is examining meetings Kushner attended in 2016 with Russian representatives and officials.
Abbe Lowell, Kushner’s attorney, told the Times that the special counsel investigation was not responsible for the delays in issuing the security clearance.
“With respect to the news about his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process,” Lowell told the Times. “Having completed all of these processes, he’s looking forward to continuing to do the work the president has asked him to do.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...ent-security-clearance-after-more-than-a-year
.
