“Forgoing background checks poses a major risk to our national security and throws into doubt the Executive Office of the President’s ability to protect the safety and security of our country and the American people,” Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote in a letter to White House counsel, David Warrington.
On his first day in office, Trump issued a memo, directing the White House counsel to grant for up to six months top secret / sensitive compartmented information security clearances to designated personnel.
The president justified this action by saying the security clearance process was “broken.”
“Individuals who have not timely received the appropriate clearances are ineligible for access to the White House complex, infrastructure and technology and are therefore unable to perform the duties for which they were hired,” Trump wrote in the memo. “This is unacceptable.”
While presidential candidates typically reach agreements with the FBI regarding background checks before the election, Trump only started letting the agency screen his nominees in December. This delay held up some of their confirmation processes.
In addition to the names of employees who receive clearances pursuant to the memo, Connolly requested the following information by Feb. 12:
All records, documents and communications related to background investigations for such in ..
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