More than 30 White House aides stripped of top secret security clearances: report

[tulc]

More than 30 White House aides stripped of top secret security clearances: report

More than 30 White House staffers had their top secret security clearance downgraded to secret late last week amid a crackdown on interim clearances, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.

Those officials will operate on a secret interim basis while their background checks are processed. None of the individuals have been asked to leave the White House, Bloomberg reported.

Dozens of staffers were notified last week in a memo that interim security clearances would be downgraded from the top secret level. Among those affected was White House senior adviser and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

tulc(thinks 30+ sounds like a lot who've had access and shouldn't have) )

 

[HannahT]

I can understand Kelly's decision.

Although, it is strange - and no doubt frustrating at times that they have been working on these clearances since June of 2017. I realize these departments take a while with things, but I think delays like this slow down much of government.

I took that from the Bloomberg's link in the article:

In an earlier memo released Feb. 16, Kelly said that the administration must “do better” in its handling of security clearances. Kelly said he would discontinue all “Top Secret or SCI-level interim clearances” for people who have ongoing investigations stretching back to June 1, 2017, using an acronym for “Sensitive Compartmented Information.” While the new policy was set to take effect on Feb. 23, White House officials have declined to say who would be affected.

Government always seems to have this 'hurry up and wait' type of attitude in most departments. We have seen this in the past too. You have to wonder why it always is so slow, and what we as a country would do if something happened on a urgent matter that wouldn't be able to be 'urgent' the way they crawl on stuff.

 

[gideon123]

There is one rule, and one rule only, regarding these clearances. When applying, a person must be **completely honest** and they must declare all foreign contacts. No games, no excuses. Those are the rules, and they apply to everyone.

The message to the White House was clear - no double standards. And the OP was correct, these people should never have been seeing classified material , let alone Top Secret information.