WASHINGTON — Jared Kushner's application for a top secret clearance was rejected by two career White House security specialists after an FBI background check raised concerns about potential foreign influence on him — but their supervisor overruled the recommendation and approved the clearance, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. The official, Carl Kline, is a former Pentagon employee who was installed as director of the personnel security office in the Executive Office of the President in May 2017. Kushner's was one of at least 30 cases in which Kline overruled career security experts and approved a top secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable information, the two sources said. They said the number of rejections that were overruled was unprecedented — it had happened only once in the three years preceding Kline's arrival. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said … [Read more...] about Officials rejected Jared Kushner for top secret security clearance, but were overruled
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How Jared Kushner Tried to Stop Me From Running the Trump Transition
On the morning of May 6, 2016, in the heat of the presidential campaign, I headed into the city to see Donald Trump. A couple weeks earlier, he had asked me to lead his government transition team, and I was ready to button down the announcement details and dive into this important new responsibility. No one had to tell me how huge a job it was. But I was all in. By this point in the presidential campaign, I’d become a semi-permanent fixture on the 26th floor of Trump Tower. The Secret Service agents didn’t bother me anymore. I didn’t have to check in with Donald’s executive assistant, Rhona Graff, or anyone else. On this particular morning, I walked past the receptionist—“Hello.” I nodded good morning to everyone, and I breezed into the main office.Story Continued Below “Hi, Chris—what’s up today?” Donald said without looking up as I dropped into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “I’m doing the … [Read more...] about How Jared Kushner Tried to Stop Me From Running the Trump Transition
Jared Kushner is Growing More Powerful in the White House, Frustrating Trump Aides: Report
U.S. Donald Trump President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has reportedly been gaining more power within the White House since the chief of staff switch up, and aides are apparently frustrated with his ascent. Since former Office of Budget and Management director Mick Mulvaney became acting chief of staff on January 3, replacing John Kelly who imposed a chain-of-command structure, the White House dynamic has reverted to the early days when Kushner often said, “everything runs through me,” The New York Times on Wednesday. Senior White House adviser Kushner’s “appearance in B-roll shots on cable news channels, traipsing the halls of Congress shoulder to shoulder with Vice President Mike Pence, have left current and former Trump aides frustrated with the appearance that Mr. Kushner is serving as a de facto chief of staff,” The Times report stated. White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Vice … [Read more...] about Jared Kushner is Growing More Powerful in the White House, Frustrating Trump Aides: Report
Jared Kushner, Not Donald Trump, Does the Firing in the White House, Chris Christie Book Suggests
U.S. Jared Kushner, not his father-in-law President Donald Trump, does the firing in the White House, ousted transition team chairman and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie writes in upcoming book. Christie claims Kushner is behind the firings of at least four people—himself included. Christie states that then-senior aide Steve Bannon carried out orders to fire him from senior White House adviser Kushner in a Trump Tower office, shortly after Trump won the presidential election. “Steve Bannon…made clear to me that one person and one person only was responsible for the faceless execution that Steve was now attempting to carry out. Jared Kushner, still apparently seething over events that had occurred a decade ago,” Christie wrote in Let Me Finish, which The Guardian obtained ahead of its publication on January 29. “The kid’s been taking an ax to your head with the boss ever since I got here,” Bannon reportedly told Christie about … [Read more...] about Jared Kushner, Not Donald Trump, Does the Firing in the White House, Chris Christie Book Suggests
Chris Christie accuses Jared Kushner of orchestrating a political ‘hit job’ against him in a new tell-all book
Eliza Relman, provided by Published 8:03 am PST, Tuesday, January 15, 2019 Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images In his new book, Chris Christie accused the president's son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, of pushing him out of President Donald Trump's orbit because of a long-held grudge. The former New Jersey governor says Kushner was behind his November 2016 ouster as the head of the presidential transition team. Christie says that Kushner took revenge on him for prosecuting his father, Charles Kushner, in 2005 for witness tampering and tax evasion. Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and head of President Donald Trump's transition team, says the president's son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, pushed him out of Trump's orbit because of a long-held grudge. In his new memoir, "Let Me Finish," Christie argues that Kusher harbored a deep resentment for him for leading the 2005 prosecution of his father, Charles Kushner, according to The … [Read more...] about Chris Christie accuses Jared Kushner of orchestrating a political ‘hit job’ against him in a new tell-all book