Jared Kushner joined the Trump administration because Donald Trump (by all appearances) wanted him to. Kushner, as Ivanka Trump’s husband, is the president’s son-in-law. Before his present advisory position in government, he worked as a shady real estate executive in the private sector, not as someone whose experience demanded he be given a government job.
Despite him still having a role anyway, he’s been at least in part thwarted in his efforts to make his mark thanks to a situation described in a new report from The Washington Post. According to sources with knowledge of the situation speaking to the outlet, Kushner at present does not have the security clearance necessary to view what’s known as “Sensitive Compartmentalized Information,” or SCI.
The clearance required to view that intelligence, which often consists of sources and methods, is a level above the clearance to view “top secret” information that he currently possesses. Another difference between the two is that the clearance Kushner does have is granted by officials working inside the White House — but the permanent clearances necessary to view SCI are granted by the CIA.
Kushner got his permanent security clearance from officials inside the White House in May of this year after having lost the interim one he was operating under in February. The clearance he lost in February included an interim approval to view SCI, something that gave him broad freedom to operate inside the administration. During the months in between February and May, he only had a clearance to view internal government information marked as “secret” and nothing more.
Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell unsurprisingly insisted to The Post that in the present circumstances his client has “access to all the materials and information he needs to do the domestic and international work the president has asked him to do.”
Third party national security lawyer and security clearance expert Mark Zaid added, though, that he thinks Kushner lacking a clearance to view SCI would “severely hamper his ability to do his job.”
The Trump son-in-law’s broad scope of action has at times led to clashes with interests like the State Department. He has handled or is handling everything from internal government efficiency to Middle East peace to a meeting with the newly elected president of Mexico.
An exact explanation for Kushner’s lack of a CIA granted security clearance is not immediately clear, although there are plenty of publicly known points of suspicion when it comes to Kushner’s activities. His contacts with foreign officials — many of which he at one point left off of paperwork necessary for any security clearance at all — have made him a target of scrutiny from interests including Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Kushner himself has been interviewed by Mueller’s team twice, including as recently as April of this year.
Mueller unveiled a new indictment of twelve Russian intelligence officers for election meddling related crimes this past Friday, but for now, Kushner has avoided any criminal charges.
He is still, though, struggling to get out from under the apparent weight of scrutiny.
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