In the midst of the fallout from the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow paused for a moment to highlight stunning new reporting from both CNN and NBC News that more than 100 officials in the Trump administration do not have permanent security clearance.
According to the CNN report, among those officials who have yet to receive clearance are Trump daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Rachel Maddow highlighted the news on Wednesday night:
Rachel Maddow Highlights Reports That Find 100+ Trump Officials Still Don’t Have Security Clearance #Maddow pic.twitter.com/4dtqMKNTwt
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— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) February 15, 2018
More details from the CNN report itself:
Nearly a year into President Donald Trump’s administration, senior-level staffers — including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Rob Porter — remained on interim clearances even as other senior advisers were granted full security access, according to information obtained by CNN from a US government official.
Having interim clearance can hamper a staffer’s ability to perform essential functions of the job, a former administration official said. It requires those with full permanent clearances to remain vigilant about what information is shared with those still operating on an interim basis.
There were more than 100 staffers in the Executive Office of the President who were operating on interim clearances more than a year after Trump was elected, according to the information.
Keep in mind: Some of the same people that are now working in the White House without full security clearance spent an entire campaign season spewing nonsense about Hillary Clinton’s email server and the supposed threat it posed to American national security.
As the CNN report pointed out, having staff members – particularly this number of staff members – without permanent clearance can hamper the administration’s “ability to perform essential functions.”
This reporting just confirms the reality that the Trump administration is operating without a full deck of cards – not that we didn’t know that already.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
