Politics

Jared Kushner Granted Permanent Security Clearance After FBI Background Check

No featured image available

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was granted permanent security clearance after a year of background checks, according to The New York Times Wednesday.

The news comes as Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, lost access to sensitive intelligence in February because he was never permanently cleared by the FBI and was operating on an interim security clearance, which only gave him access to “secret” level intelligence, The NYT reported.

“With respect to the news about his clearances, as we stated before, his application was properly submitted, reviewed by numerous career officials and underwent the normal process,” Kushner’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said to The NYT. “Having completed all of these processes, he’s looking forward to continuing to do the work the president has asked him to do.”

Trump could have granted Kushner with a permanent clearance, but said he would leave all decisions on Kushner’s security clearance to White House chief of staff John Kelly in February.

“I will let General Kelly make that decision,” Trump told reporters. “I have no doubt he’ll make the right decision.”

Kushner will now have access to “top secret” intelligence, including Trump’s daily briefing from the CIA.

Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter