White House not cooperating in security clearance probe: House committee chairman

[UpInArms]

Source: ABC News

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee says the White House has not been cooperative in a growing probe of security clearances given to members of the Trump administration.

The accusation comes on the heels of a stunning report in the New York Times Thursday, citing four sources who claim former chief of staff John Kelly said President Donald Trump ordered him to get a top-level security clearance for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, approved. ABC News has not independently confirmed the report, which cites a memo written by Kelly.

Trump told the Times last month he "was never involved in his [Jared’s] security" clearance. Earlier this month, in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Abby Hunstman, Ivanka Trump said " the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance, zero."

... snip ...

“It is highly usual for the president to override security officials and instruct them to grant a security clearance to someone who has been deemed high risk,” said former Homeland Security official and current ABC News contributor John Cohen. “The security clearance process is one of the ways we protect our nation’s most sensitive secrets. And while the president has the authority to override the process, it doesn’t mean he should because it may place our national security at risk.”

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/questions-loom-jared-kushners-security-clearance-house-committee/story?id=61399729

[lark]

1. Subpoena the lying jerks.

Expose the evil rot at the core of this stolen administration.

[lancelyons]

11. That is where dems are not strong. Subpoenas should be happening all the time

[BumRushDaShow]

16. They just got back into control of the House barely 2 months ago

after being out of power since 2011, literally being sworn in during the longest government shutdown in history with 800,000+ people furloughed. They also had to get their 39 brand new members situated in offices and staffed up, as well as get all of the Democratic caucus members assigned to committees with designated Democratic Chairs for each, plus setup some new committees and resurrect other committees that the GOP torpedoed 8 years ago. Now that the infrastructure is in place, they have turned on their brand new battering ram and are on the move. Give them chance!

[SWBTATTReg]

23. Absolutely. I think that they, AOC, Nancy P., others are doing a great job in moving the ...

democratic needle forward in a positive way. Remember, they still have to deal w/ a repug controlled senate and repug controlled exec. branch too in the meantime, and they are going to continually throw up roadblocks etc. to which I suspect Nancy P. is well aware of, and also, she hasn't revealed all of her tricks yet. I fully suspect that there are more things to come, that will shock the administration and senate in more ways that we imagine. I am sick of these repugs' gutter sniping and ignorant language. Makes you wonder where in the heck did these people grow up at?

I think that we're doing pretty good being that the repugs on the Cohen subcommittee meeting the other day (where Cohen testified to AOC that rump overinflated for insurance the values of properties as well as underinflated the values of properties for paying taxes, etc. The way the repugs were screaming and yelling and carrying on like a bunch of old cry babies (worse actually).

[BumRushDaShow]

29. I think all of the Oversight committee members did a fine job

notably Rashida Tlaib, who brought racist Teabagger birther Mark Meadows to his knees, causing him to have a blubbering public melt-down on tv .

The Oversight Committee had a press release summary of new info that they obtained and/or confirmed - https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/new-information-revealed-in-oversight-hearing-with-michael-cohen

[SWBTATTReg]

30. And thank you for pointing this out (and providing the link too). I appreciate very much and...

look forward to viewing your link. Good people all. Mark Meadows is a sick puppy (no insult to dogs here!) and these people (like him) are such drama queens. Makes you wonder if they really care so much about the country as a whole or just that tiny sliver in their neck of the woods, and are concerned about non issues far more than they should be.

Take care and have a nice weekend!

[SWBTATTReg]

32. Read your link, can't wait for the tax guys in states impacted as well as the IRS to become...

more aggressive in pursuing these obvious tax frauds. Nail his a&& to the wall. Crook.

Nice summary too. Thanks.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. What is even better

(from that summary link) was the link to the Elijah Cummings beat-down letter of Gymaster Jordy - https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2019-02-27.EEC%20to%20JJ%20re%20OGE.pdf (PDF file)

[SWBTATTReg]

36. Nice! nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. I think tRump promised "greater transparency". Got nothing to hide?

[Scurrilous]

3. K&R

[RockRaven]

4. We need some Congress members (perhaps NOT from Oversight committee to avoid cries of "bias!" later)

to start publicly questioning WHAT JARED DID WITH THIS CLASSIFIED INFO.

That is the real scandal here, not just that he got an inappropriate security clearance and they all lied their asses off about it, but that he possibly/apparently turned around and used classified materials -- which are supposed to be used for national security purposes -- for personal profit, to the detriment of our national security. That's espionage. And it is a capital crime. Those are the stakes here, not just an abuse of a process or guideline, or a power struggle between branches of government.

[solara]

8. Exactly n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

13. +1000 nt

[groundloop]

15. It will come out that Kushner's actions resulted in a journalist being murdered

Why else would Tiny be tiptoeing so carefully around that issue?

[volstork]

5. trump doesn't give a crap

about putting national security at risk. All he cares about is trying to (re)line his pockets and looking like a big shot.

[bluestarone]

10. In the end

He will be a BIG SHIT (not big shot) and the pockets he re-lined will be re-EMPTIED! His so called net worth will COLLAPSE!

[solara]

6. So now we are seeing it

In all his blatant little ways, trump sets the stage for his refusal to vacate the White House when he loses in 2020.

If he gets way with overriding "security officials and instructing them to grant a security clearance to kushner, who was deemed a high risk" (an action which would have seemed like a tin-foil hat crazy conspiracy assumption two years ago) he can get away with anything.

So, when he loses the election in 2020 he will just lie as usual and the trumpian dystopia he has activated will support his lies. He will tweet "Voter Fraud" " Fake News", his family will lie, his insane minions in Congress will lie, the corrupt Vichy GOP will lie, the MSM will lie, his lawyers will lie, his AG will lie and the White House will just not respond. He has SCOTUS and the courts, thanks to McConnell. We are already inured to his obscenities.

Taking off my tin tiara, but he needs to go...now.

[moonseller66]

7. Willing to pay the penalty?

or are they above the law?

As I stated in another comment, remember Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and what happened to them.

[duforsure]

9. I have a feeling

Trump pre-approved all his group ahead of time to ignore listing any contacts or anything when they filled out their top security clearance forms, assuring them all he'd protect them. Can the House make the President come before them to testify? They should do it if they can and under oath.

[ffr]

12. Lock them up!

Bunker mentality. Outflank them!

[berni_mccoy]

14. Time for a new Special Prosecutor to investigate THIS crime.

[DoctorJoJo]

17. As One Who Held a TS/SCI Clearance for More Than 20 Years, I Am Appalled!

This alone should be an impeachable offense, as it directly threatens our national security!

[snpsmom]

28. Same here n/t

[progree]

18. "It is highly usual for the president to override security officials ..." LOL

“It is highly usual for the president to override security officials and instruct them to grant a security clearance to someone who has been deemed high risk,” said former Homeland Security official and current ABC News contributor John Cohen. “

I think there is a missing "un" in front of "usual". :ROFL:

[SHRED]

19. Is editing a dying art?

“It is highly usual for the president..."

Unusual.

[The Roux Comes First]

25. Sadly, Yes

I find it appalling how frequently both on-line and in-print materials feature embarrassingly obvious gaffes like this, representing I suppose some combination of being in too much of a hurry to re-read carefully before posting and/or erosion of editing resources and access to them. It seems to be increasingly common, although I suppose it could also be partly a reflection of the blossoming of my inner curmudgeon with age.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. AT first I thought he meant rump does this all the time.

[calimary]

20. All that proves is that they really want to hide something.

[Maxheader]

21. heh...

[LiberalLovinLug]

22. But But But Her emails!!!

[yerop]

24. LTATFU

Lock them all up

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. Typo "highly usual" or does he mean rump always does this or should it say unusual ?

It is not UpInArms typo, it is on the link.

[Kurt V.]

31. blue wave, actual oversight! !

[Takket]

34. reminder............

Kushner used his security clearance to access names of opposition leaders to MBS of Saudi Arabia. MBS rounded up those persons and some of them were killed.

I don't know how that would apply in a court room... but in the strict sense of morality only, Kushner is a murderer.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5575395/Saudi-crown-prince-brags-Jared-Kushner-handed-U-S-intelligence.html

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman bragged of receiving classified US intelligence from Jared Kushner and using it as part of a purge of 'corrupt' princes and businessmen, DailyMail.com can disclose.

The de facto ruler of the Middle East's largest economy is currently on a US tour which has seen him meet President Donald Trump in the White House, hold talks with a string of the country's richest and most influential people and book the entire Four Seasons in Beverly Hills for himself and his entourage.

Sources have told DailyMail.com that the prince – known by his initials MBS – has been boasting about his close relationship with the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, and the intelligence which he has told his circle Kushner passed to him.

[MiniMe]

35. I believe the Times

DJT has proved to be very unreliable as far as truth telling goes

[Amaryllis]

37. So can Congress MAKE them "cooperate" with subpoenas?

[UpInArms]

38. House Oversight Committee issues ultimatum to White House over security clearance information

CNN) The chairman of the House Oversight Committee issued a stark warning Friday to White House counsel Pat Cipollone, demanding that the White House turn over documents and comply with interviews related to how the White House handled security clearances of some of the President's closest advisers.

Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland gave the White House counsel's office until March 4 to comply with the request.

"I am now writing a final time to request your voluntary cooperation with this investigation," Cummings said. "I ask that you begin producing all responsive documents immediately, and I request that you begin scheduling transcribed interviews with each witness identified by the Committee."

More at ...

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/03/01/politics/congress-investigate-security-clearances/index.html

[Amaryllis]

39. THis answers - but i wonder what happens if they refuse to comply with a subpeona?

Since they think they are above the law...

"On Thursday after the Times story broke, Cummings threatened to issue a subpoena for the information if the White House doesn't comply with the request.

"To date, the White House has not produced a single document or scheduled a single interview," Cummings said in a statement. "The Committee expects full compliance with its requests as soon as possible, or it may become necessary to consider alternative means to compel compliance."

Connolly also told CNN in an interview Friday that he believed that Cummings will likely be forced to issue the subpoena given the resistance from the White House on the issue."

[UpInArms]

40. We just have to wait and watch

At least we have Cummings on point on this ...

[MadDAsHell]

41. I'm not sure they have to comply, TBH. I believe POTUS has ultimate authority to clear people.

And he can override any objections to that clearance, so I'm not sure there's anything to "probe" besides trying to make more public his questionable (but legal) clearance decisions?