Top Secret Security Clearances? Still?!

[LaMouffette]

So Don Jr., Jared, and Ivanka weren't supposed to get security clearances in the first place, but Daddy Trump "fixed it" so that his kids got top secret security clearances anyway. Now, according to the Senate Intelligence Committee Report, Don Jr. and Jared were found to have, indeed, worked with Russia to get Trump elected in 2016 and were given criminal referrals (that won't be acted on until Trump is pried out of the White House). And it was recently reported that Ivanka pushed the Trump campaign to release tweets promoting the Wikileaks emails prior to their release and she helped arrange the Trump Tower meeting.

And these three traitors still have top secret security clearances? And Trump, too?!

And, yes, I know, nothing will be done to take away their clearances until William Barr is pried from his position as AG. So this is really just a rant, but my God. I hope once Dems are back in control that they institute a rule that anyone seeking office must FIRST as a candidate, be able to pass a security clearance. And stronger nepotism laws, not guidelines, laws, and, and . . .

Okay, rant over!

[Laelth]

1. Righteous rant. k&r n/t

-Laelth

[Roy Rolling]

34. Do I have to Say It?

But her emails.

[Mike 03]

2. It's totally wrong.

There's a great account of this fiasco in A Very Stable Genius. Even John Kelly thought the idea of Jared having a TSC was ridiculous. He had too much debt and kept lying about his foreign contacts. He was too friendly with Saudi Arabia. Foreign deputies from a half dozen countries were caught on tape by our intelligence agencies laughing about how naive and manipulable Kushner is. He is easy to compromise, and IMO he's one of the two people in this administration most likely to go to prison (the other being William Barr).

Kicking

[Klaralven]

3. "anyone seeking office must FIRST as a candidate, be able to pass a security clearance"?

That doesn't sound like a good idea. Having the current government vet candidates for office and exclude the ones they don't approve of is dangerous.

And I'm pretty sure that there are members of Congress who wouldn't pass a security clearance.

[erronis]

4. I'd trust the DISA (or whatever agency does clearances now) more than an autocrat demanding them for

his children, friends, fellow mobsters.

How about full financial disclosures of the past ten years with multiple auditing firms looking at them? The auditing firms can be selected by the major parties.

[stillcool]

6. Huh? Members of Congress have security clearances..

they get classified information through the committees they sit on. The current government does vet candidates for office, and excludes ones they don't approve. Pretty basic. I don't understand what government you're referring to.

[stopdiggin]

11. ???? where did you get this idea?

"current government does vet candidates for office, and excludes ones they don't approve .."

nope. at least my government doesn't.

[stillcool]

21. What do you call all those confirmation hearings?

[stopdiggin]

37. I think you are talking about political appointments

something different from "running for office"
(And, in fairness, maybe the entire thread is co-mingling the two, legislative and executive -- but they're obviously not the same thing. In the case of office holders -- the voters do the vetting. Which is why Donald Trump is our president. Damn and blast!)

And, no -- members of Congress are not required to have security clearances, either before or after taking office.

[stopdiggin]

13. you're 100% correct. NOT a great idea.

and not workable in any real sense.

[NewJeffCT]

15. You don't Pass or Fail a security check

the FBI would give you a list of various "red flags" or "yellow flags" associated with their background investigation and the person doing the hiring then decide whether or not to still hire you. Or, possibly, the hiring department (i.e., Defense, Treasury, etc) would have certain standards that needed to be met.

In the past, presidents & cabinet members were constrained by past behaviors & norms and would not hire a person with red flags in their background. And, they would likely need a great explanation for why you should be hired if you received a yellow flag. (and, yellow flag would likely mean you can't get the higher levels of clearance at least, even if hired)

[Klaralven]

29. I was responding in terms of candidates for elective office

Candidates for appointment to offices or candidates to be hired by the Federal government do have to pass background investigations as part of their confirmation or hiring process.

But candidates for elective office, such as to the House of Representatives do not. There is no security check performed as part of the process for getting on the ballot.

If elected and if found ineligible for a clearance, the Representative is not assigned to committees that require it.

[calimary]

25. But but but - what about the Lucky Sperm Club?!?!?!?

[mjvpi]

5. Rant over? I don't think so.

Nice one.

[Beaverhausen]

7. Don Jr? I thought he didn't have any sort of government job

isn't he still running Trump's businesses?

[BlueJac]

8. Thank you

It is hard to hold in the rage from all that is going on, I second every word you said! It's past time to clean out the house We own in DC. Most days are filled with dismay and anger toward the Shit Stain that wants to be King!

[Atticus]

9. Righteous and well said. Thanks. nt

[SergeStorms]

10. Trump has demonstrated a complete disregard for laws as well.

You're correct though, if there ever is (Dog forbid) another mistake like Trump elected to the Presidency, there have to be stiffer walls erected to keep this crap from happening again.

[ananda]

12. We have no real rule of law in this country..

None

[Wednesdays]

14. Sure we do

They only apply to the little people, though.

[ananda]

30. Also Dems and blue areas.

..

[KY_EnviroGuy]

16. These are people who should not be employed by our government. Period.

We need dedicated, unselfish public servants like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris now more than ever that are willing to sacrifice personal interests for our nation.

The Trumps and his entire administration exhibit the exact opposite of those qualities. All of them are wealthy self-serving corporate-loving crooks.

KY

[TNNurse]

17. Sometimes you just have to type your words out and share them.

You know it won't change things but it is a release.

Rant when you need to do so.

[keithbvadu2]

18. Jared thinks a security clearance is a license to sell our country's secrets for profit.

[Lonestarblue]

19. I wonder how much secret foreign intelligence Kushner has traded for his family business.

This whole group is all about quid pro quo—you give me favorable real estate opportunities and I give you US intelligence about your enemies. Saudi Arabia comes to mind. I remember a news article from a couple of years ago reporting that Kushner’s younger brother often seemed to be in Saudi Arabia at the same time Jared was meeting with MBS. I’ve also wondered whether it was Jared who tipped off MBS about Khashoggi being in Turkey and preventing any warning going to Khashoggi before he left the US.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

20. I can add nothing to your rant...

And agree with it all.

All I can offer is a wall for them to stand in front of. The irony may do them in...no.

[ALBliberal]

22. I was just thinking of this. I had a Q level clearance

at one time. A big process to be approved. They interviewed people from my childhood etc. Former employers and so on. Ongoing training on how to avoid being compromised or bribed.

But the scary thing for me? My former co-workers and friends that had or have this clearance are voting Trump. One has a doctorate in microbiology.

I cannot wrap my head around the cult of Trump.
Only to say their hatred of liberals beats their patriotism and common sense.

[LaMouffette]

23. Thanks, fellow DUers!

Thanks for the responses! Means so much to know that I am far from alone in my sentiments. And thank you so much, DU website facilitators, for this site. What a great community!

Go, Joe! Go, Kamala! Go Dems!

[DallasNE]

24. Criminal Referral Would Have Gone To Rosenstein

Last edited Mon Aug 24, 2020, 12:50 PM - Edit history (1)

Why would he not Persue it?

[LaMouffette]

27. Rachel Maddow did a segment last week about this

and according to the segment, the criminal referrals went to US federal prosecutor Jessie Liu's office, but she "stepped down" (was pulled) from her position, being told that she would be nominated for a position at the US Treasury. Liu was replaced by Trump loyalist Timothy Shea. Hence, no action was taken on the criminal referrals for Don Jr., Jared, and Ivanka.

(I tried to find the segment or other reportage of this, but couldn't find it in a quick google search and I gotta get back to work!)

[DallasNE]

31. Thanks

My main point was that it would not have gone to Mueller.

Sounds like it's time for the House Judiciary Committee to call Timothy Shea to testify under oath, say on October 20th. (I know, they wouldn't be in session, but still).

[IronLionZion]

26. Reagan type Republicans should be more concerned with this Russian interference

and how this administration is a bit too cozy with America's long time adversary.

[MyOwnPeace]

28. Oh, you sillies!!!!!

Don't you realize the grifting wouldn't be half as good without the clearances?
Next thing you know you will want to see what else we've been doing to make money since Daddy sort'a gave up his real job....

And besides, don't forget that we ARE the party of family values - what our family can do now will only increase our values.

[Mr. Ected]

32. The mere fact that the only Constitutional remedy available when checks & balances fail us

Materialize four years in the future....and even that institution (voting) is under increasing attack by those who favor a one-party system....scares me to no end.

Four years is a long time. Remember, Trump was a newbie fascist leader when he took the oath of office. Give him another chance and he won't make the same mistakes. He'll just invite Vlad over here to help him out.

I realize it's not contemplated in the constitution and therefore impossible, but without a true safeguard in place to more rapidly put down an existential threat to our democracy, eventually we won't be able to hold back the barbarians at the gate. The fascists may lose in Washington, but they'll continue to live among us, a consistent 35% minority that has proven it can cheat enough to win.

[TexasBushwhacker]

33. I don't think Don Jr has top security clearance

He doesn't work in the WH in any official capacity like Jared and Ivanka do.

[cstanleytech]

35. He probably really needed them to have it so as to have a better chance at grabbing as much

classified information as they all can get their hands on as they flee the country to beg for sanctuary in Russia on Trumps last day in office.

[Ms. Toad]

36. Anyone the president wants to have a secrity clearance gets one -

regardless of whether they would otherwise be eligible to have one.

(I said "the president" because this is a right associated with the office, not a power Trump has grabbed.)

I suspect that Trump's rein will require us to rethink a lot of things that we never thought we needed specific rules for in the past - but no one ever imagined a president who cared more about himself than about national security.