9 Feb 2018 9:09 pm
So why didn't Kelly act on his plan to fire those who could not obtain a security clearance?Kelly knew before abuse reports that Porter would be denied security clearance.
White House chief of staff John Kelly was told several weeks ago that multiple White House aides who had been working in the West Wing on interim security clearances would not qualify for permanent clearances.
Those aides, according to a senior administration official, included former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who left the White House on Thursday after reports that he physically and verbally abused his two ex-wives.
The White House chief of staff told confidants in recent weeks that he had decided to fire anyone who had been denied a clearance — but had yet to act on that plan before the Porter allegations were first reported this week.
Because of this:
So Kelly and McGahn are keeping a bunch of people who will never be able to get clearance, because of Jared Kushner who they can't fire.As Jared Kushner’s security clearance is delayed, White House hesitates to act on others with possible problems.
White House Counsel Donald McGahn and other Trump administration officials have been so vexed by Jared Kushner’s months-long inability to obtain a permanent security clearance that they have hesitated to get involved in other cases with potential problems, several people familiar with the matter said.
And this is why you should not have family members working in the WH.
Related:
I don't ever want to hear another word about how Hillary was careless in her handling of classified material.Dozens of Trump officials still lack full security clearance.
Thirty to 40 White House officials and administration political appointees are still operating without full security clearances, including senior adviser to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner and -- until recently -- White House staffer Rob Porter, according to a US official and a source familiar with the situation.
The White House claims that the backlog of interim security clearances is a procedural consequence of the review process carried out by the FBI and White House Office of Security, which can take time to complete.
But several sources, including intelligence officials who have served previous Democratic and GOP administrations, describe the backlog as very unusual and make clear that the process should have been completed after a year in office.
Asked on Thursday why so many White House officials were still operating on interim clearances, White House spokesman Raj Shah said he wasn't able to discuss specifics of the clearance process.
These yahoos have a bunch of people who don't have security clearances and my never be able to get security clearances handling all kinds of classified material.