CIA Won’t Grant Kushner Clearance To See Intel Sources, Surveillance Methods

on May 18, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Senior White House Adviser and the son-in-law of President Donald Trump Jared Kushner listens during a panel discussion titled "Successes in the States" on May 18, 2018 at the White House. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner lacks the security clearance level needed to access the most highly classified information, including portions of the President’s daily briefing and intelligence agencies’ contacts and surveillance methodology, according to a Thursday Washington Post report.

Kushner reportedly has a “top secret” clearance designation, the highest the White House can grant without the agreement of the CIA. It is unclear why the CIA is refusing to elevate his designation and whether it has anything to do with his involvement in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Probe.

This is just the latest twist in the saga of Kushner’s security clearance. In a highly unusual arrangement, Kushner had unfettered access to extremely classified information for an entire year despite only having an interim security status while the agencies checked his background.

White House chief of staff John Kelly demoted him to “secret” level in February after outcry about the nonchalant way Trump administration members who lacked proper clearance were able to access classified files and a report that foreign governments planned to manipulate Kushner through his international businesses. Kushner was boosted up to his current designation in May.

Per the Post, some have pointed out that Kushner’s security clearance level likely hinders his ambitious workload, which involves liaising with foreign leaders and sketching out a plan for lasting peace in the Middle East

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