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Republicans Block Effort To Revoke Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance

T

Tovarisc

Member
They called the move a ”political stunt."
House Republicans voted Thursday to block an effort aimed at revoking the security clearance of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.

Several members of Congress have questioned the appropriateness of Kushner maintaining a security clearance following bombshell reports that he met with a Kremlin-linked lawyer who promised incriminating information about 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during last year's campaign. The president's son-in-law failed to disclose the meeting, as well as several other meetings with Russian officials, on the security clearance form he submitted before the Trump administration took office.

Knowingly omitting such information is a crime. Kushner's lawyers, however, maintain the omissions were an error and have amended the form.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who chaired the Democratic National Committee during much of last year's campaign cycle, proposed an amendment targeting Kushner during a House Appropriations Committee markup session Thursday. It was voted down, 22-30, along party lines.

The measure would have barred the government from issuing or maintaining a security clearance for any White House individual ”under a criminal investigation by a Federal law enforcement agency for aiding a foreign government."
Click to expand...
Wasserman Schultz also attempted introduced an amendment that would bar the government from issuing or maintaining a security clearance for White House staff who ”deliberately fail" to disclose meetings with foreign nationals. It was voted down by the same margin.
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”Revoking Jared Kushner's security clearance would send a clear signal to anyone who would consider aiding and abetting a foreign enemy state to affect the outcome of a U.S. presidential election that they will not be entrusted with our nation's most sensitive information," she added.

Republicans called the move a stunt, arguing that it is unnecessary and unproductive under current federal regulations.

”This is already the law," Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) said. ”The use of funding prohibitions to deny or remove security clearances is simply a political stunt and utterly unnecessary because security clearances can already be revoked because of criminal conduct."
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...ae4b0a0c6f1e67433?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
 
R

Random Human

They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
I get protecting Trump, but this is something that doesn't make sense to me. Are they worried Trump will have a tantrum and Twitter slam them all? Why would you protect Kushner?
 
Ploid 3.0

Ploid 3.0

Member
I happened to watch the Howard Stern 9/11 live coverage documentary video for the first time yesterday, and everyone was mad and together on doing something about the people behind the attack. Not saying it's the same thing, but this was, and is an attack on America, and republicans in power are allowing it to continue or make light of it just because they are looking out for each other rather than America/the people they are supposed to represent.
 
R

RoboPlato

I'd be in the dick
Fucking of course. I hate that party and that family so much. They won't even try to pretend that they're going to give due diligence to anything.
 
I

Imperfected

Member
Why is this up for a vote to begin with? That's not how a fucking security clearance works.

There's no fucking voting involved in the process!
 
B

BrassDragon

Member
In fairness, I don't trust the chaotic, amateur hour and blatantly corrupt Trump administration to compartmentalize and censor intelligence even if Kushner's clearance was revoked - POTUS would still happily drop the briefings on his desk to be rid of them. These nitwits handled an international incident in the middle of a public Mar-a-Lago banquet hall and blew a vital allied source to the Russians for bragging rights.

Having said that, anyone actively opposing common sense security measures should become a person of interest in the ongoing investigations.
 
L

Lo-Volt

Member
“This is already the law,” Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) said. “The use of funding prohibitions to deny or remove security clearances is simply a political stunt and utterly unnecessary because security clearances can already be revoked because of criminal conduct.”
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If that’s the case, is Rep. Culberson implying that outcome for Jared Kushner? “This is already the law” therefore the law will take care of him?
 
B

BossDarkseid

Member
There's a sort of irony in the Republicans decrying it as a political stunt when their President is Donald Trump, real estate mogul and host of The Apprentice.

Not that its lost on anyone : /
 
P

Protome

Member
Lo-Volt said:
If that’s the case, is Rep. Culberson implying that outcome for Jared Kushner?
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I think it's more him trying to shift the blame for nothing happening with Kushner's security clearance away from "there are no rules to enforce" to "he has done nothing that broke rules."

Which is obviously not actually true but is a pretty standard republican spin.
 
T

Tovarisc

Member
Imperfected said:
Why is this up for a vote to begin with? That's not how a fucking security clearance works.

There's no fucking voting involved in the process!
Click to expand...

Well at least someone tried to revoke clearance when apparently most don't care.

Also they tried to add to law that people under criminal investigation can't hold clearance.
 
I

Imperfected

Member
Tovarisc said:
Well at least someone tried to revoke clearance when apparently most don't care.

Also they tried to add to law that people under criminal investigation can't hold clearance.
Click to expand...

I mean it's not even that complicated.

If any details of your clearance paperwork are found to be inaccurate, your clearance is immediately revoked, and generally having it revoked will be a non-starter for ever receiving one in the future.

There isn't even a need for due process. A security clearance is not a basic human right or privilege of citizenship, it's a special, conditional allowance. It can (and should, and often is) be revoked completely out-of-hand without a criminal conviction.

I mean, christ, I know people who couldn't get a Top Secret clearance because their credit history was less than immaculate.
 
T

Tovarisc

Member
Imperfected said:
I mean it's not even that complicated.

If any details of your clearance paperwork are found to be inaccurate, your clearance is immediately revoked, and generally having it revoked will be a non-starter for ever receiving one in the future.

There isn't even a need for due process. A security clearance is not a basic human right or privilege of citizenship, it's a special, conditional allowance. It can (and should, and often is) be revoked completely out-of-hand without a criminal conviction.

I mean, christ, I know people who couldn't get a Top Secret clearance because their credit history was less than immaculate.
Click to expand...

I have seen your post more than once on Twitter from people who also have a lot knowledge about this topic (working / worked in IC, military etc.). They also can't comprehend how Wonder Boy is allowed to keep his security clearance and still has it as in their view he should have lost it many times over by now.
 
N

NullPointer

Member
Let nobody forget that this whole Russia debacle is shared every bit of the way by Trump's Republican enablers in office. They're the reason he's unaccountable.

When the time comes and these reps start making very public overtures to distance themselves from Trump, remember this.
 
T

TheCochese

Banned
Use their names in ads and remind the American people every day.

These people do not have the best interests of this country.
 
S

sturgboski

Member
I really hope something happens and it takes down the Republicans in Congress. I'm sick and tired of hearing "oh this would be the same if the president was a democrat." If there was any whiff post election Hillary wouldnt have even been able to place her hand on the Bible.
 
I

Inyourprime

Member
Not surprised. They're scared shitless of Trump, whom still has an approval rating of 85%+ among republicans last I checked.

I'm sure they'd grow a spin when it hits around 70%... hmm, let's make it 60%.
 
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