Trump's Day Gets Even Worse As Adam Schiff's Intel Committee Joins Security Clearance Investigation

[babylonsister]

https://www.politicususa.com/2019/04/01/trumps-day-gets-even-worse-as-adam-schiffs-intel-committee-joins-security-clearance-investigation.html

Posted on Mon, Apr 1st, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump’s Day Gets Even Worse As Adam Schiff’s Intel Committee Joins Security Clearance Investigation


The mushrooming White House security clearance scandal got even bigger as House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that his committee would be working with the Oversight Committee on the investigation.

Chairman Schiff said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:

By repeatedly overruling the adjudication decisions of career officials, it appears the White House made a regular practice of placing political considerations ahead of national security, providing top-secret security clearances to applicants in cases where there was concern about susceptibility to foreign influence, conflicts of interest, and more. The President has the authority to override security clearance adjudications, but Congress has a responsibility to provide rigorous oversight when the President allows politics or nepotism to intrude into the security clearance process and place at risk our nation’s security.

As part of its oversight of the Intelligence Community, the House Intelligence Committee will be working closely with the Oversight and Reform Committee to support their investigation into the White House’s security clearance process.

The security clearance scandal is a national security crisis

The investigation falls into the jurisdiction of the House Intelligence Committee because it involves national security and people who are security risks interacting with foreign governments. The powerful Oversight Committee should be in charge of the investigation because of the critical issues surrounding how executive branch power is being used and the basis on which security clearances are being granted by this administration.

Because Democrats control the House, Donald Trump will now be accountable for these decisions.
Knowingly and willfully jeopardizing national security by not protecting the country is an impeachable offense. Trump has been stonewalling Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings for months by refusing to provide documents related to the security clearance issue, but his time is running about as the full oversight authority of the House is about to be unleashed on the Trump administration.

[gratuitous]

1. Whoa, Schiff didn't resign like they told him to?

I like Rep. Schiff's framing: The president is placing politics or nepotism over the nation's security. Short, sweet, to the point. Hard to spin.

[Stuart G]

8. Schiff vs Trump...Now who is smarter?..(don't need to answer) Who is more loyal to this country?

(Don't need to answer.) What Trump did is not defensible. Trump really does not have a clue.

[onetexan]

9. yes in deed, the tables have turned

no matter how the Idiot attempted to turn the narrative against Schiff, he won't be able to knock him. Schiff & Nadler & Dems will keep pummeling him with investigations.

[Stuart G]

14. Those invesetigations will be deep and names will be named. This is not some

email controversy, this is giving security clearances to those who could not pass security tests. Standard Tests that are given to everyone. Fair and reasonable tests for security.

[onetexan]

16. so true. And Barr won't be able to block these House Intel investigations either.

[leftieNanner]

13. Smarter?? Wait. Wait.

You don't think a guy who graduated from Stanford and Harvard law is smarter than a guy who got his undergrad degree from Penn (or so we hear), do you?

Oh, Trumpy, you are in waaaay over your head here.

[corbettkroehler]

29. Oh, Right, He Decided To Serve His Constituents And Nation Instead

Ah, the crocodile tears of the rethug members of the House Intel Committee were memorable. They forgot that Mr. Schiff is a former federal prosecutor and, thus, has a thick skin.

This should be great fun. I can't WAIT to see the lengths of aid Schiff lends to Cummings in his inquiry!

[thegoose]

2. Who else besides Kushner has access?

That shouldn't, I mean. Did Dump demand that Pootie and Li'l Kim get security clearance? This is a disaster.

[GemDigger]

3. Earlier I read that it was 25 clearances. Give or take 1

That's a lot of people that know our national security.

[NewJeffCT]

30. I think it was 25 as well

so, kushner, Don Jr, Ivanka... Michael Cohen? Steve Bannon? Wilbur Ross?

[GemDigger]

33. Flynn, Miller, A couple of his Chief of Staffs, and every person he put in an office that needs one.

I just found this..

http://gogovernment.org/background-checks-and-security-clearances-for-federal-jobs/

Depending on their mission and role in national security, many federal agencies require security clearances. Only federal agencies can grant security clearances. Examples of agencies that may require higher levels of clearance include:
Intelligence community (e.g., Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency)
Federal law enforcement agencies (e.g., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Naval Criminal Investigative Service)
Diplomatic agencies (e.g., State Department, United States Agency for International Development)
Civilian military agencies (e.g., Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Security Service)

My guess is everyone "he" put in charge of keeping the country safe was labeled not qualified to keep us safe.

[NewJeffCT]

34. Thanks

Forgot about Flynn. He was certainly one of the 25 as well.

Not sure about Miller - he may be reprehensible as a person, but not sure he's compromised? Same with Sessions, unless they knew about his Russian contacts by that time?

I think Kelly, McMaster, Coats and Mattis were OK

Not sure on Pompeo and Tillerson.

[GemDigger]

36. I agree with your comment of Kelly, McMaster, Coats and Mattis.

Tillerson (because of Exxon) and Pompeo are both suspect in my eyes.

[Roy Rolling]

4. Every Time I Hear This

My blood starts boiling when I think "what about her emails?" And the damage to national security they blamed her for. Traitors. They sold their souls.

[George II]

5. Take that, dotard. As a pencil neck, watch out for those pencil necks out there, moran.

[VWolf]

28. You hear Bill Mahar this weekend?

"Who uses 'pencil neck' anymore??? It's 2019, we don't even use pencils!" - I lol'd

[George II]

31. No, I don't watch him. When I was in high school (1960s) the insult was "pencil neck geek"!

[NewJeffCT]

35. I remember the 1980s and wrestling manager "Classy" Freddie Blassie

of the WWF (now the WWE) used to call rival wrestlers and the announcers "pencil necked geeks" - I think he even had a video at the time.

[Stuart G]

6. "The security clearance scandal is a national security crisis" There it is for all to see. That's it

A problem caused by Donald Trump, carried out by Donald Trump, and will be defended by Donald Trump.
Yes, this is indefensible.

[MartyTheGreek]

7. And 666 Kushner Got a TS Clearance Even After Setting Up a Back-channel for Ruskies Help

Furthermore, he did all of this while pushing the Middle East Marshall Plan bypassing Congress and DOE, where US Companies would export US Nuc Tech to the Sauds and Ruskies would build the power plants. So who's gonna monitor this so called deal and how did Kushner get his building at 666 Fifth Ave get bailed out so suddenly when it was tanking?

This for That! I'm sick of it! This crime syndicate has tried to sell out our Country for their greedy benefit! When will people wake up?

[CrispyQ]

32. And crickets from the GOPs in Congress.

I hate McConnell most of all.

[BigOleDummy]

38. Indeed!

And well fucking said!

[NewJeffCT]

37. setting up the backchannel

is probably why his father in law gave him clearance

[Stuart G]

10. More important...The intelligence community.(CIA, FBI (parts of) and military intelligence.) is

involved in this...So, who you think they will support?..Trump or Congress?

[orangecrush]

11. ...

[lindysalsagal]

12. frump is so desperate he'll give the russians our elections to save his own ass.

IMPEACH!!!

[renate]

18. he absolutely would... he has an even greater incentive to betray the country than before

Before, if he did work with the Russians (I'm prepared to believe he wasn't--they may have known that he'd blab the plan at one of his rallies if he were actually in on it), it was just to make himself look better on Election Day, win or lose.

Now, his re-election is a matter of life as a free man or death in prison. He would absolutely do ANYTHING to save himself without a second thought. He'd start a war, knowing but not caring about the deaths that would be placed on the altar of his survival. He'd betray his country without a second thought. That's honestly not a casual insult, it's just a fact.

[NCjack]

15. When DEMs take the Senate, we will run a fine comb through

every thing Mitch McConnell touched.

[kyburbonkid]

23. If KY wises up, maybe we can dump both of our clown senators.

They are such a waste of volume.

[MartyTheGreek]

17. Related FM Salon and Princess Ivanka Wanted her Name Removed From TT NY MTG Per Cohen Emails

https://www.salon.com/2019/04/01/trump-white-house-security-clearance-crisis-kushner-problem-getting-worse-fast/

SHE WAS NOT INVOLVED”: E-MAILS SHOW IVANKA’S LAWYER ASKED FOR CHANGES TO MICHAEL COHEN’S CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

Story: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/03/how-ivankas-lawyer-sought-to-influence-cohens-testimony?verso=true

[llmart]

20. Time to subpoena Princess Iwanka's attorney.

She's in this up to her eyeballs.

[pdsimdars]

19. To be very rational, if they prefer Putin's word to our national intelligence

It is a free country and they should go live where they feel better. If they prefer the way Putin does things to our system, then git outa here. If they prefers Putin's authoritarian state to our "deep state" (or whatever they call it), they should GO THERE and live where they are more comfortable and with the values they prefer.

[Honeycombe8]

21. They shouldn't have gotten him mad. You wouldn't like Schiff when he's mad....

But seriously, how are they going to have time for this? They have so much on their plate already! I bet their staffers are working around the clock.

[Evolve Dammit]

22. Proceed, Chairman Schiff and Chairman Cummings. Godspeed.

[ALBliberal]

24. Anyone know how many security clearance overrides in Obama

administration... even GW Bush for that matter. Would be an interesting piece of information.

[mr_lebowski]

25. May I suggest, Chairman Schiff, checking to see which of these folks

Contributed to Trump's campaign and/or inauguration?

Or perhaps even his, or the Trump Org Bank Account(s), directly?

Trumps not likely to stick his neck out like this ... for no personal benefit to him.

I don't think even the scumbag GOP Senators would be able to bring themselves to vote against impeachment if we could show Trump profited off overriding the IC on security clearances. Think that MIGHT actually sway the needle with them.

If NOT, we're friggin' lost as a Nation, that's for sure.

[Sherman A1]

26. We will need lots of

for this.

[Greywing]

27. It's about fecking time this starts getting attention ...

especially in the media. Just outrageous the little hands dictator be put in his place starting with getting his little prince and princess gone from anything to do with the national security of our country.

[lunatica]

39. Every single crime, shady activity and self serving act Trump has done

needs to be investigated, blocked and reversed. He and his administration and children need to be stopped. No crime, however small should be overlooked, or considered too small.

[Mc Mike]

40. Rec, important development. Thanks, nt.