Accusations Against Aide Renew Attention on White House Security Clearances
Abbe D. Lowell, Mr. Kushner’s lawyer, said in a statement
that “it is not uncommon for this process to take this long in a new administration (some taking as long as two years)” and that there are “a dozen or more people at Mr. Kushner’s level whose process is delayed like his.”
Questions about the security clearance process at the White House have become more urgent after the scandal surrounding Mr. Porter
and the still-unanswered questions about when the president’s aides knew about the abuse allegations against him.
People familiar with the security clearance process in Mr. Trump’s White House said it was widely acknowledged among senior aides
that raising questions about unresolved vetting issues in a staff member’s background would implicitly reflect on Mr. Kushner’s status, as well — a situation made more awkward because Mr. Kushner is married to the president’s daughter Ivanka.
Ms. Sanders referred questions about the security clearance process —
and why Mr. Porter was allowed to continue working at the White House for so long despite the abuse accusations — to the F. B.I.
“If you had agreed to any of our previous requests for information on these matters, the White House would have been
required to answer key questions about why Mr. Porter was denied a final security clearance,” Mr. Cummings wrote.
Representative Trey Gowdy, Republican of South Carolina
and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has refused to ask the White House for any information about security clearances or for a formal briefing on the matter, Democrats on the panel said Monday.
“I can’t get into the specifics,” Ms. Sanders said in response to questions about what Donald
F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, knew about the Porter allegations and when he knew it.
