This post first appeared on Government Executive. Read the original article.
<![CDATA[
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., on Thursday called for the Trump administration to provide a list of White House employees receiving a temporary Top Secret security clearance without complete vetting, arguing the president has “disdain” for the background check process.
“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 individuals.
- Any records or documents of current or prospective EOP employees with foreign contacts, conflicts of interest, history of financial impropriety or have attempted the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.
At the end of the 118th Congress, Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., introduced the Security Clearance Review Act, which would direct the FBI to make the final determination on whether an EOP appointee may receive a security clearance or classified information. However, the president would be able to overrule the FBI’s decision, provided they notify Congress within 30 days.
No action was taken on the measure. Its introduction followed reports that Trump was considering using a private firm, rather than the FBI, to screen potential appointees.
During Trump’s first administration, congressional Democrats raised concerns about reports that the president had overruled intelligence agencies’ recommendation not to provide his son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner with a full security clearance. Trump denied interfering.
The Defense Department in November approved a three-year plan to implement the IT system that will undergird Trusted Workforce 2.0, an effort to modernize the background check system for federal employees that has been marked by costly, years-long delays.
]]>