Bipartisan Senate inquiry goes after Jared Kushner’s security clearance
In the weeks since it was revealed that Donald Trump’s son-in-law held suspicious secret meetings with the Russians and then lied about it on his White House clearance forms, various Democrats in Congress have made efforts at getting Kushner’s security clearance revoked. But those efforts haven’t gotten anywhere because the Democrats are not in the majority. However, the effort to go after Kushner’s clearance has now become a bipartisan one.
The Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the White House and the FBI this week, demanding answers regarding Jared Kushner’s security clearance and Donald Trump’s role in the matter. The letter has the power to get things done because it’s bipartisan in nature. It’s signed by the Republican chair of the committee, Chuck Grassley, in addition to the Democratic ranking member Dianne Feinstein. It’s also signed by Republican subcommittee chair Lindsey Graham in addition to Democratic subcommittee ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse. The letter pulls no punches.
The letter demands answers to eight key questions:
1. WhatisthestatusofMr.Kushner’ssecurityclearance? Pleaseincludeinyourresponsethe level of information that he has been cleared to receive and the nature (whether interim or permanent) ofhis clearance, as well as the dates on which major decisions concerning Mr. Kushner’s security clearance were made.
2. Did President Trump or any other White House official outside the Office of Administration intervene in or overrule any decision concerning Mr. Kushner’s background investigation, the Office of Administration’s determination that Mr. Kushner was eligible for a clearance, or at any other point in the security clearance process?
3. Has Mr. Kushner supplemented his incomplete January 18, 2017 SF 86? If so, when?
4. Section 19 of the SF 86 requires applicants to disclose any “close and/or continuing contact with a foreign national” with whom the applicant is “bound by affection, influence, common interests, and/or obligation” within the previous seven years. Please produce to us that section of Mr. Kushner’s SF 86, including any additional materials that may have been submitted to supplement Mr. Kushner’s original submission.
5. Section 20B. l of the SF 86 requires applicants to document foreign government contacts, including any instance in which the applicant “provided advice or support to any individual associated with a foreign business or other foreign organization” that the applicant has not listed as a former employer. Please produce to us that section ofMr. Kushner’s SF 86, including any additional materials that may have been submitted to supplement Mr. Kushner’s original submission.
6. Section 20B.6 ofthe SF 86 requires applicants to document foreign government contacts, including “any contact with a foreign government, its establishment (such as embassy, consulate, agency, military service, intelligence or security service, etc.) or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S.,” in the past seven years. Please produce to us that section of Mr. Kushner’s SF 86, including any additional materials that may have been submitted to supplement Mr. Kushner’s original submission.
7. Would the omission of information describing the number or purpose of Mr. Kushner’s publicly reported meetings with Ambassador Kislyak and/or Mr. Gorkov have materially affected your assessment ofhis ability to safeguard sensitive information, or otherwise influence your determination o f his eligibility for a security clearance?
8. Have you concluded that Mr. Kushner has, as ofthis date, provided full and accurate information regarding his contacts with foreign government officials? Ifnot, what steps have been taken to ensure that Mr. Kushner provides such an accounting? Read the full letter here.
