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Jared Kushner, John Bolton, and Michael Flynn are among the probe's targets.

Elijah Cummings and Dem’s are giving Trump and Republicans a lesson in Checks and Balances 🔥

Cummings is seeking all documents related to background investigations and security clearances of

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (hired Cambridge Analytica)

national security adviser John Bolton (Cambridge Analytica client)

former national security adviser Michael Flynn

Flynn’s son, Michael Flynn Jr.

former White House national security aide Sebastian Gorka

former White House Secretary Rob Porter

...among others. (Ivanka Trump?)

In a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, highlighted how throughly the administration has stonewalled past congressional requests for information on the topic. “For the past two years, I have sought information with other Committee Members about a series of extremely troubling incidents regarding the security clearances of some of President Trump’s top aides, but the White House has refused to provide the information we requested, often ignoring our requests completely,” Cummings wrote.

Cummings’ letter is a new signal that he plans to wield the subpoena power he gained when Democrats won control of the House to push the White House to address inquiries that it blew off when Democrats were in the minority. The letter also reveals Cummings’ oversight strategy: He is linking various arguably disparate Trump controversies under the broad topic of security clearances. Focusing on clearances, a matter that is hard to dismiss as frivolous, may help overcome White House opposition to oversight.

President Trump reportedly ordered his former White House chief of staff John Kelly last year to grant a security clearance to his son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

The Americans

The full scope of intelligence officials’ concerns about Mr. Kushner is not known. But the clearance had been held up in part over questions from the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. about his foreign and business contacts, including those related to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, according to multiple people familiar with the events.

Who has John Kelly’s memo?

The report of Trump's order, which the Times said was documented at the time by Kelly in a memo, contradicts statements the president made to the newspaper last month in which he claimed he had no role in the reinstatement of his son-in-law's security clearance.

Liar in Chief

“I was never involved with the security” clearances for Kushner, Trump was quoted as saying last month. “I know that there was issues back and forth about security for numerous people, actually. But I don’t want to get involved in that stuff.”

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said, “We don’t comment on security clearances.”

From the NYTimes

Democrats, subpoena the report and Kushner’s personnel file

In an entry to Mr. Kushner’s personnel file on Sept. 15, 2017, the head of the personnel security division, Carl Kline, wrote, “Per conversation with WH Counsel the clearance was changed to interim Top Secret until we can confirm that the DOJ or someone else actually granted a final clearance. This action is out of an abundance of caution because the background investigation has not been completed.”

Jared and Ivanka whining to Trump

Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump both complained to the president about the situation, current and former administration officials said. In Mr. Kushner’s case, Mr. Trump would often turn to other aides and say in frustration, “Why isn’t this getting done?” according to a former administration official. On at least one occasion, the president asked another senior official if the person could sort out the issue. That official said no, according to this account.

Carl Kline forced to give in

A recent report by NBC revealed that Mr. Kline had overruled two career security specialists who had rejected Mr. Kushner’s application based on the F.B.I.’s concerns. A senior administration official confirmed the details laid out in the NBC report.

Mr. Kline was acting on the directive sent down by the president, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

The Americans #TheEnemyWithin

#trump #donald trump #security clearance #top secret clearance #top secret #ivanka trump #ivanka #jared kushner #kushner #nepotism #trump nepotism #kushner sf86 #ivanka sf86 #national security #natsec #classified information

The personnel office director also cleared 30 other people in the Trump administration. The House Oversight Committee is investigating.

Trump doesn’t give a flying F about National Security. It’s Trump’s FIRST.

"Kushner’s clearance was denied twice by two White House security experts because of FBI concerns about foreign influence on Kushner. But they were overruled by Carl Kline.”

Kline also overruled security experts on 30 other people in the Trump administration, an unprecedented number, unnamed officials told NBC. Such a situation had occurred only once before in the previous three years.

Who are the 30 other people?

From NBC

After Kline overruled the White House security specialists and recommended Kushner for a top secret clearance, Kushner's file then went to the CIA for a ruling on SCI.

After reviewing the file, CIA officers who make clearance decisions balked, two of the people familiar with the matter said. One called over to the White House security division, wondering how Kushner got even a top secret clearance, the sources said.

“Top secret information is defined as material that would cause "exceptionally grave damage" to national security if disclosed to adversaries.”

The sources say the CIA has not granted Kushner clearance to review SCI material.

Checks and Balances

NEWS ALERT: Chairman @RepCummings Issues Statement on News about Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance! Full Statement: https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/cummings-issues-statement-on-news-about-jared-kushner-s-security-clearance …

— Oversight Committee‏ @OversightDems - Jan 24, 2019

Why it Matters!

Read Boy Plunder: The Many Crimes of Jared Kushner by Greg Olear

2. Meeting Illicitly With Russian Officials/Surrogates

3. Meeting With the President of a Sanctioned Bank

4. Lying on His SF-86 Security Clearance Form

7. Providing the Saudi Crown Prince With Classified Intelligence

8. Failure to Warn Jamal Khashoggi of the Plot Against Him

9. Using Personal Email to Conduct Government Business #ButHisEmails

After the revelation that President Trump had ordered that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be granted a top-secret clearance, two committees are now seeking documents and interviews with officials.

Make National Security great again.

Subpoena everyone involved: Trump, Kushner, Pat Cipollone, John Kelly, Carl Kline and Don McGahn.

The chairman, Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, who leads the House Oversight and Reform Committee, accused the White House in a new letter of stonewalling his requests for information and implied that if it did not comply voluntarily, he would issue a subpoena to compel its cooperation.

He said the report, published by The New York Times, added new concerns that Mr. Trump was lying to the public about his role in the clearance process to existing and broader questions about irregularities surrounding who should have access to sensitive government secrets.

rooting out The Americans

“If true, these new reports raise grave questions about what derogatory information career officials obtained about Mr. Kushner to recommend denying him access to our nation’s most sensitive secrets,” Mr. Cummings wrote in a letter to Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel.

The letter went on to ask about “why President Trump concealed his role in overruling that recommendation, why General Kelly and Mr. McGahn both felt compelled to document these actions, and why your office is continuing to withhold key documents and witnesses from this Committee.”

The Times also reported that Donald F. McGahn II, then the White House counsel, wrote a memo of his own documenting concerns raised by the C.I.A. and other officials about Mr. Kushner.

Even McGahn, "recommended against giving him such broad access to the government’s secrets.”

Jared Kushner apparently paid almost no federal income tax for years. Which makes us ask: why did it take him so many times to get his financial disclosures right last year?

— Citizens for Ethics‏ @CREWcrew - Oct 14, 2018

1. Kushner Paid No Federal Income Tax for Years

2. How Jared Kushner Avoided Paying Taxes

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday “if it’s true” that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner swayed U.S. foreign policy against Qatar for personal financial reasons, he “has to go.”

Trump’s foreign policy is Self Enrichment.

Did Jared and Trump receive “donations” from Israel or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv?

The Intercept reported on Friday that representatives of Kushner Companies, including Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, met with Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi in New York in April in a bid to secure Qatari financing for the firm’s distressed signature property, 666 5th Avenue.

Then, in early June, a coalition of nations led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates abruptly severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. They proceeded to blockade the small, natural gas-rich nation, ostensibly in retaliation for Qatar’s support of islamist movements abroad and cordial relationship with Iran. The blockade remains in effect.

Trump surprised many in the diplomatic community by initially backing the Saudis and Emiratis so whole-heartedly.

Qatar, a longtime American partner, is home to a key strategic base for the U.S. military in the Middle East where thousands of troops are deployed.

“If the reason this administration put U.S. troops at risk in Qatar was to protect the Kushners’ financial interests, then that’s all the evidence you need to make some big changes in the White House,” Sen. Chris Murphy