Former White House counsel Don McGahn called for presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s security clearance to be downgraded over “serious” concerns in his background check, according to a new book.
President Donald Trump overruled career officials in 2018 to grant Kushner a top-secret security clearance despite concerns raised by intelligence officials and the White House. A memo obtained by Times reporter Michael Schmidt for his new book “Donald Trump v. The United States” shows that McGahn argued that Kushner’s clearance should be downgraded over those concerns, according to an excerpt published by Axios.
“The information you were briefed on one week ago and subsequently relayed to me, raises serious additional concerns about whether this individual ought to retain a top security clearance until such issues can be investigated and resolved,” McGahn wrote in a memo to then-White House chief of staff John Kelly following a routine FBI background investigation into Kushner. Continue reading.