Third White House official resigns after being told he wouldnt qualify for full clearance

[fleur-de-lisa]

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/14/third-white-house-official-resigns-after-being-told-he-wouldnt-qualify-for-full-clearance-409246

A senior official on the National Economic Council resigned on Tuesday after being informed that he would not receive a permanent security clearance, as the White House faces increasing scrutiny over the number of high-ranking officials allowed to work on interim clearances.

George David Banks, who had served since February 2017 as special assistant to the president for international energy and environmental policy, told POLITICO that he was informed by the White House counsel’s office Tuesday that his application for a permanent clearance would not be granted over his past marijuana use.

Like an estimated three dozen others in the White House, Banks had been working on an interim security clearance while the administration determined the status of his full clearance.

Banks is the third White House official to leave the administration over the last week. White House staff secretary Rob Porter resigned last Wednesday amid allegations of verbally and physically abusing his two ex-wives. Speechwriter David Sorensen, who worked at the Council on Environmental Quality, stepped down on Friday over domestic abuse allegations. Both Porter and Sorensen deny the allegations.

[HipChick]

1. Wasn't his drug use, but the fact that he lied about it..

[Brother Buzz]

2. He admitted to smoking marijuana in 2013.

But we don't know if he admitted it before or after the field investigation.

[HipChick]

3. Suspect it was afterwards...had a guy cleared with a DUI

He admitted it before..it's the cover up not the lie that will get you..

[lpbk2713]

4. You can't pencil whip a clearance on that level.

Even if he does report to the Asshole-in-Chief.