Trumps deputy national security adviser Gorka doesnt have a security clearance?

[sunonmars]

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/03/the-curious-case-of-sebastian-gorka-trumps-new-terrorism-guru-security-clearance/

Regardless, I want to highlight a different concern here. You see, it appears Gorka doesn’t have a Top Secret or a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance. On February 16, the Associated Press noted: “The newly established Strategic Initiatives Group, headed by White House strategist Steve Bannon, includes a unit charged with counterterrorism intelligence, current and former senior officials say. The unit is headed by White House aide and former national security analyst Sebastian Gorka, who doesn’t have appropriate clearance, they said — something the officials expressed concern about given the sensitive mandate of the unit.”

This seemed odd, so I raised the issue on Twitter to see if anyone had updated information. In response, I was told by three separate reporters that they had been unable to confirm that Gorka has a security clearance at all (at any level), although it is possible that he may have an “interim” Secret-level clearance (one level below Top Secret). To date, the White House has been non-responsive to these reporters’ inquiries.

Why does any of this matter?

It matters because if it is true that Gorka lacks a Top Secret clearance, it calls into question the credibility of Gorka’s repeated claims that he has insights personally gleaned from supposedly attending meetings on terrorism or other sensitive national security meetings (you know, the ones the media can’t possibly know the truth about). In my experience, at least, these meetings are almost always convened at the Top Secret or TS/SCI level. It would also mean Gorka doesn’t have access to the government’s Top Secret email network, which is the primary way White House officials and NSC staff share information on current threats and operations.

Similarly, if Gorka does not have a Top Secret clearance, any reference to classified intelligence by Gorka to justify Trump’s policies represents, um, “alternative facts,” since sensitive intelligence on terrorist threats to the U.S. homeland is typically marked at the Top Secret or TS/SCI level. (The same is true of cyber issues, by the way, which is the other area Gorka supposedly works on for the SIG.) Now, perhaps Gorka was never meant to be an actual adviser on these issues, but rather just an appendage to the White House communications and press team. But again, in my experience, the NSC spokesperson and other communicators engaged on national security issues require a TS/SCI clearance so they can sit in on relevant meetings where these issues were discussed.

Of course, it is also possible Gorka has had access to these meetings and this intelligence, as he implies. But if that is the case, and he does not have a Top Secret security clearance, that is a scandal.

So, which is it? Either way, Dr. Gorka and the Trump administration have some serious mansplaining to do.

[hlthe2b]

1. Oh, gawd, to listen to Gorka is to hear every stereotyical voice inflection of movie villains

CREEPY... I watched that referenced BBC interview--OMG