The president's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has been stripped of his temporary, high-level security clearance under new rules imposed by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly designed to crack down on West Wing staff with long-pending background investigations, sources tell ABC News. That means Kushner, whose portfolio includes the solving the Middle East peace process, will no longer have regular access to the nation's most closely guarded secrets as the FBI continues its nearly 15-month review of his application for permanent clearance. Kelly's action was not limited to Kushner alone, the sources said. The White House would not comment on the record about Kushner’s clearance.
Kushner, who was on Capitol Hill earlier in the day, declined to answer reporters' repeated questions about his security clearance.
A spokesperson for Kushner said the move will not affect Kushner's ability to carry out tasks assigned by the president.
"As to his security clearance, Mr. Kushner has done more than what is expected of him in this process. Those involved in the process again have confirmed that there are dozens of people at Mr. Kushner's level whose process is delayed, that it is not uncommon for these clearance reviews to take this long in a new administration, and that the current backlogs are now being addressed," the spokesperson said. "No concerns were raised about Mr. Kushner's application. As General Kelly himself said, the new clearance policy will not affect Mr. Kushner's ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the President."
Source :- abcnews
Kushner, who was on Capitol Hill earlier in the day, declined to answer reporters' repeated questions about his security clearance.
A spokesperson for Kushner said the move will not affect Kushner's ability to carry out tasks assigned by the president.
"As to his security clearance, Mr. Kushner has done more than what is expected of him in this process. Those involved in the process again have confirmed that there are dozens of people at Mr. Kushner's level whose process is delayed, that it is not uncommon for these clearance reviews to take this long in a new administration, and that the current backlogs are now being addressed," the spokesperson said. "No concerns were raised about Mr. Kushner's application. As General Kelly himself said, the new clearance policy will not affect Mr. Kushner's ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the President."
Source :- abcnews
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