White House senior adviser and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had his security clearance downgraded on Tuesday from the Top Secret/SCI-level to Secret level.
Kushner was one of several White House aides working with highest-level interim security clearances. They were told in a memo sent to staff Friday their clearances would be downgraded, according to Politico and other reports. SCI stands for sensitive compartmentalized information.
A spokesperson for Kushner didn’t explicitly confirm that report, but did cite a “new policy” put in place by White House chief of staff John Kelly. The spokesperson said that policy would not affect his “ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.”
“As to his security clearance, Mr. Kushner has done more than what is expected of him in this process,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Those involved in the process again have confirmed that there are dozens of people at Mr. Kushner’s level whose process is delayed, that it is not uncommon for these clearance reviews to take this long in a new administration, and that the current backlogs are now being addressed. No concerns were raised about Mr. Kushner’s application.”
Kushner’s access to top secret information came under scrutiny this month when the White House responded to a scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter.
Two of Porter’s former wives alleged domestic abuse against him, and each told the FBI during its background investigation into Porter of incidents during which he was verbally or physically abusive.
As part of the fallout from the Porter scandal, it was revealed numerous White House aides, including Kushner and Ivanka Trump, had yet to receive security clearances and were instead working under interim clearances.
Kelly sent a memo to White House staff last month approving changes to how the White House grants clearances, a change that took effect Friday. Kelly said the White House needed to “take a hard look” at the way it processed clearance requests and told the FBI to “discontinue any Top Secret or SCI-level interim clearances for individuals whose investigations or adjudications have been pending since June 1, 2017.”
When asked Friday whether he would issue a waiver for Kushner under Kelly’s new rules, Trump said it would be up to his chief of staff.
“General Kelly respects Jared a lot and General Kelly will make that call,” he said.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders opted not to address the status of Kushner’s security clearance during Tuesday’s White House press briefing.
“We actually haven’t commented on Jared’s issue indicated, but we have commented on his ability to do his job,” she said. “Which, he’s a valued member of the team and he will continue to do the important work that he’s been doing since he’s started in the administration.”
