NATIONAL SECURITY/TRUMP PEOPLE: “From speeding to pot smoking to, in one case, ownership of a Canadian brewery, rank-and-file government employees often see their security clearances challenged, denied or revoked for issues they consider relatively minor. Which makes them all the more frustrated to see White House staffers with major red flags in their backgrounds given permission to handle classified information.
Lawyers say they’ve seen government workers and federal contractors run into serious clearance problems over occasional marijuana use, routine debts or small-scale foreign investments while top Trump officials like former staff secretary Rob Porter worked with a clearance for about a year despite allegations of spousal abuse. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, continues to hold a clearance despite owing tens of millions of dollars in debt — some owed to a German bank…
During the Obama administration, one Defense Department contractor had his clearance proposed for denial on the grounds that he had investments in Canada, according to the man’s lawyer… White House chief of staff John Kelly issued a five-page memo last week owning up, in general terms, to a poorly run process. He’s ordered a crackdown of sorts, particularly on interim clearances. The changes could put Kelly in conflict with Kushner, who has reportedly been working with an interim clearance, unless Trump grants his son-in-law and adviser a special dispensation…
The Porter scandal and scrutiny of Kushner’s clearance has cast a bright light on the White House’s approach to clearance, one that lawyers in the field say smacks of special treatment… The FBI conducts background investigations of White House officials seeking security clearances and makes recommendations that the White House can overrule. Employees for other departments and agencies are typically assessed by Office of Personnel Management investigators or contractors.”
-Josh Gerstein and Darren Samuelsohn, “Pot smoking vs. spousal abuse: Security clearance double standard alleged,” Politico, Feb. 22, 2018 05:00am