Dems launch probe of White House security clearance process
By Morgan Chalfant - 01/23/19 11:55 AM EST
House Democrats are launching an expansive investigation into the White House security clearance process, accusing the Trump administration of disregarding established protocols in a way that has resulted in “grave breaches of national security.â€
Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Wednesday demanding a slew of documents, including those related to background investigations and security clearances of current and former officials like national security adviser John Bolton and Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser who's also President Trump's son-in-law.
Cummings requested that officials from the White House Personnel Security Office who handle security clearance adjudications make themselves available for sit-down, transcribed interviews with his committee starting Feb. 11.
“The goals of this investigation are to determine why the White House and Transition Team appear to have disregarded established procedures for safeguarding classified information, evaluate the extent to which the nation’s most highly guarded secrets were provided to officials who should not have had access to them, and develop reforms to remedy the flaws in current White House systems and practices,†Cummings wrote in the letter. “The investigation also will seek to determine why the White House is currently defying federal law by failing to provide to Congress information about its security clearance process required by the SECRET Act.â€
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https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/426612-house-dems-launch-probe-into-white-house-security-clearance-process