Officials say Donald Trump’s transition team will ensure that all political appointees undergo thorough security screening on their first day and that only after the incoming administration takes over and FBI officials have assumed key positions will the FBI He is planning to undergo a background check. .
The move means Trump’s team will continue to evade FBI investigation and remain deprived of classified briefings until Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and unilaterally grants broad security clearances across his administration. It seems to mean that there is a gender.
Trump’s team has been disparaging the FBI’s background check process for months, officials said, adding to a deep distrust of the agency after officials turned over records of their transition into the Russia investigation during the Trump era. It is said to be a product of feeling.
But if some political appointees run into problems with background checks that could disrupt the Senate confirmation process, or if they have trouble getting security clearances once they enter the White House, the F.B.I. Delaying the review could also bring ancillary PR benefits to the Trump campaign.
The presumptive process for obtaining clearance during the first Trump administration included relying on FBI background checks to determine whether the White House’s Office of Personnel Security would grant clearance. Background checks initially looked for any lack of credibility or red flags that could be exploited by an adversary.
If an initial check with law enforcement databases found no issues, the applicant was granted an interim permit, followed by a deeper investigation before proceeding to a permanent permit. President Trump’s current plan appears set to bypass that initial stage.
“Trump Vance’s transition attorneys continue to engage constructively with the Biden-Harris administration’s attorneys regarding all agreements being considered in the presidential transition law. We will provide updates as decisions are made. President Trump’s press secretary Brian Hughes said in a statement.
Mr. Trump’s team has long been skeptical of the process, given that Mr. Trump, as president, ultimately has the power to grant permission to whoever he wants. It has been argued that it is pointless to have the power to recommend against the granting of retention permits.
Trump himself has repeatedly accused the FBI of being part of a “deep state” conspiracy to undermine his policies.
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During the first Trump presidency, several advisers, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn, and Trump’s controversial former national security adviser Sebastian Gorka, They faced delays and hurdles in obtaining top-level permits.
According to a memo written by then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Mr. Kushner, who played many roles in the first administration and was involved in developing the Middle East peace plan, said that Mr. Trump had personally intervened. He said he only received permission after giving the order. .
In Kushner’s case, officials in the White House Office of Personnel Security were reportedly divided over whether to grant him top-secret clearance based on the results of an FBI background check.
In 2018, after more than a year of problems, then-White House Counsel Don McGahn recommended that Trump not give Kushner that level of security clearance. But President Trump told Kelly to ignore that advice and grant it to Kushner anyway.
The exact details of the concerns about Kushner are unclear, but reports at the time said they stemmed in part from FBI and CIA concerns about Kushner’s foreign and business contacts with countries such as Israel, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. It was done.
In 2019, a manager at the Office of Personnel Security told a House committee that 25 people, including two senior Trump White House officials, were denied career employee clearances due to “disqualification issues.” The New York Times reported that Kushner appears to be part of that group.
Epshteyn left President Trump’s White House before receiving permanent clearance. The Trump campaign says his situation has been “resolved,” but it remains unclear what the results of the background check will be. Mr. Epshteyn has been floated for a senior position in the incoming administration.
According to the Associated Press, Gorka was charged with carrying a gun at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in 2017 during the first Trump administration and was unable to obtain clearance from the National Security Council. Mr. Gorka was appointed on Friday as deputy assistant to the president and senior director of counterterrorism.
