Testimony from whistleblower and former White House personnel security office employee Tricia Newbold identifies White House senior adviser Jared Kushner as the individual whose security clearance was initially denied due to worrying foreign influences, business ties and personal conduct.
According to a Wednesday Washington Post report, Kushner was identified as “Senior White House Official 1” on the documents, given to the House Oversight Committee. His denied clearance was overturned by political appointee Carl Kline.
Newbold said that Kline did not address Kushner’s myriad of concerning entanglements, dismissing them as “activities [that] occurred prior to Federal service.”
The Oversight Committee this week voted to subpoena Kline, an aggressive move to investigate individuals in Trump’s inner circle.
This information sheds more light on the severity of Kushner’s compromising background, and the extent to which foreign nations may have used him to get at U.S. intelligence.
Last February, Trump bullied then Chief of Staff John Kelly into promoting Kushner up a rung on the security clearance ladder over Kelly’s objections.
