Jared Kushner Loses Access to Nation’s Top Secrets

By Chloe Teboe 2/28/2018

Courtesy of Creative Commons

Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and a senior advisor, lost access to sensitive U.S. information after Chief of Staff John Kelly called for changes to the national security clearance system.

Aides with previous access to “top secret/sensitive compartmented information” now have a lesser “secret” clearance, according to CNN. The change means that individuals like Kushner will no longer be able to access the Presidential Daily Brief, a collection of top secret material presented to the commander in chief every day.

“Those involved in the process again have confirmed that there are dozens of people at Mr. Kushner’s level whose process is delayed,” said Kushner’s attorney, Abbe Lowell. “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.”

Kelly had been frustrated with the high number of aides in the White House that did not have permanent access since Trump took office more than a year ago, according to CNN. This became apparent when Kelly announced his decision to shrink the number of temporary clearances in a February 16 memo.

CNN reports that a source familiar with the situation said that Kushner has accepted the decision about his security clearance and “will not ask for special permission” from the President. Mr. Trump said any exemptions would be up to Kelly.