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

[brooklynite]

Source: Politico

A senior official on the National Economic Council says he 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.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

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

[madaboutharry]

1. For smoking pot? Really?

What is this, 1990?

This one doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[hlthe2b]

4. I know... Is it really possible most anyone could answer truthfully NEVER?

[ToxMarz]

9. Does seem an impossible bar for many to cross

I wonder if maybe he had a marijuana conviction, or maybe he lied in his application about his past marijuana use.

[Farmer-Rick]

16. Yeah, he probobly lied about smoking pot.

Smoking pot alone wont prevent you from getting a clearance. At least not back in 2002.

[FirstLight]

2. ...because of Marijuana use?

Now Sessions will have something to say about that, won't he?

and wtf...was he a dealer or just a user? that's fucked...

[Maeve]

3. Shhhh! Don't tell Sessions! The elf will have you locked up NOW!

Seriously? Past weed use? And what else?

[Raster]

15. And I don't get this....

...Sessions, Dude, you and your elven peeps would sell way more cookies.

[lanlady]

5. He must have a habitual pot smoker

These security agencies don’t mind occasional use in the past, but steady or continuing use of pot is a disqualifier.

[getagrip_already]

8. it's a wh thing.......

They have their own brick walls and cannabis use is the only one we know of.

Other departments agencies have differing degrees of tolerance. But if you used it illegally (not under a state medical program or in a rec legal state), they would all stop you.

Just like with a DUI, or any evidence of criminal activity, or money problems.

They don't like risk factors. And using drugs (even cannabis) illegally can lead to opportunities for blackmail.

It's past time to remove cannabis from schedule 1. Schedule 1 means there is no legitimate medical use. That is not the case with cannabis, and many, many states have legalized its use.

[lanlady]

12. I completely agree

But it’ll be a long, long while before a habitual pot smoker is granted any sort of TS or TS/SCI clearance to work in a classified environment. Long after AG Keebler Elf is gone.

[getagrip_already]

14. I'm hopeful, but not foolish...

What it would likely take is a descheduling of cannabis at the national level. That would remove it from actions under the controlled substances act.

States would still be free to not allow its use, but it would clear the decks at the federal level. If you live in a rec legal state or have a valid medical reason to use it under a state law, the agencies will likely stop asking questions and only be concerned with dui's and arrests/convictions.

I don't see that happening any time soon though. But eventually a state like TX will go green and things will move quickly.

[rzemanfl]

6. Talking about wrecking the schadenfreude buzz. n/t

[yallerdawg]

7. Who gets to tell Jared Kushner?

[procon]

10. This smells like a ruse.

He was likely denied for several reasons, and one of them could be his past marijuana use, but I'm suspicious that was not the primary cause that he didn't qualify for a permanent security clearance.

More than likely he's hiding the true reason, which might lead to yet another frontpage White House (sex, Russia, money, violence???) scandal if it became public knowledge.

[IronLionZion]

11. It's legal in many states now

but Jeff Sessions still wants to throw people in jail for it. This is actually something that military leadership also deal with, since soldiers can be stationed in states where it's legal but it is still illegal at the federal level.

[ffr]

13. Aren't these conservative criminals suppose to get promoted when they're less qualified?

This is just confusing as hell. What does it take for this guy to live up to conservative republican values? Does he have to sleep with a porn star or brag about grabbing women by the genitals on live television?

[Cold War Spook]

17. This just feels wrong to me.

When in the army, to work with special intelligence, I needed a TOP SECRET/SCI/ CRYPTO clearance which took 16 months to get, but these people don't need that high a clearance.