Donald Trump may not be able to get White House security clearance for Steve Bannon

| 12:57 pm EST November 19, 2016
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

Even as public backlash continues to pour in over Donald Trump’s appointment of white supremacist and alleged wife beater Steve Bannon to the position of White House Chief Strategist, it turns out they may not have to worry about him in the end. Bannon, who runs the hate-group website Breitbart and largely pulled the strings of Trump’s divisive campaign, is certainly a man to be feared and reviled and rejected. But as it turns out, his bizarre background may prevent him from being able to get the necessary security clearance to get the job to begin with.

Because Steve Bannon has had such a close association with so many hate groups that have advocated violence or illegal use of force over the years, a number of experts have told The Daily Beast believe that he won’t be able to pass a background check to gain security clearance. That leads to the question of whether Trump can use the power of the Oval Office from a pragmatic standpoint to override the background check, and Daily Kos doesn’t believe that he necessarily can.

So what would happen if Donald Trump can’t get Steve Bannon the necessary security clearance required for the job of White House Chief Strategist? As a practical matter, Trump will probably call up Bannon on a regular and seek his input, just as he’s been doing throughout his campaign, and just as he continued to do with Corey Lewandowski and Roger Stone after they officially parted ways with the campaign. And so Trump will be relying on the advice of the white supremacist Bannon one way or the other. But if he has to withdraw Bannon’s name from the position, it’ll represent an embarrassing body blow for his administration right out of the gate, weakening his already tenuous political capital.

Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.