ECONOMY/NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A senior official on the National Economic Council says he resigned on Tuesday [2-13-18] 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.
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.”
-Andrew Restuccia, “Third White House official resigns after being told he wouldn’t qualify for full clearance,” Politico, Feb. 14, 2018 01:05pm