Kushner Resists Losing Access as Kelly Tackles Security Clearance Issues
Kelly is trying to up his image now. Not working for me!
CHAOS
12 hours ago
Report: John Kelly Targeting Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance
https://www.thedailybeast.com/report-john-kelly-targeting-jared-kushners-security-clearance
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is reportedly clamping down on top officials who have interim security clearances, including Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who also serves as a senior adviser. Kushner, who is reportedly resisting Kelly’s efforts, does not have a full security clearance due to lingering issues with his FBI background check. According to The New York Times, Kushner believes that Kelly “has targeted him personally with the directive.” In a statement, Kelly said he has “full confidence in [Kushner’s] ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign-policy portfolio, including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico.”
Read it at The New York Times
Kushner Resists Losing Access as Kelly Tackles Security Clearance Issues
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/us/politics/kushner-kelly-security-clearance-.html
Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman
7-9 minutes
WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is resisting giving up his access to highly classified information, prompting an internal struggle with John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, over who should be allowed to see some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets, according to White House officials and others briefed on the matter.
Mr. Kushner is one of dozens of White House officials operating under interim security clearances because of issues raised by the F.B.I. during their background checks, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the clearances. The practice has drawn added scrutiny because of Rob Porter, the former staff secretary who resigned under pressure this month after domestic abuse allegations against him became public.
Mr. Porter’s post entailed handling and reviewing the flow of documents to and from the president, which routinely includes highly classified material. He had been allowed to continue in the job for more than a year with a stopgap clearance even though the F.B.I. had informed the White House of the damaging accusations against him.
Mr. Kushner’s clearance has afforded him access to closely guarded information, including the presidential daily brief, the intelligence summary Mr. Trump receives every day, but it has not been made permanent, and his background investigation is still pending after 13 months serving in Mr. Trump’s inner circle.
Now Mr. Kelly, his job at risk and his reputation as an enforcer of order and discipline tarnished by the scandal, is working to revamp the security clearance process, starting with an effort to strip officials who have interim clearances of their high-level access. In a memo issued on Friday, Mr. Kelly said he would revoke top clearances for anyone whose background check had been pending since June 1 or earlier, and review such clearances every month thereafter..................................................
Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, is one of dozens of White House officials operating under interim security clearances because of issues raised by the F.B.I. during their background checks, officials say. Tom Brenner/The New York
