| | | | | Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner’s year of security clearance struggles finally caught up with him Tuesday, when White House chief of staff John Kelly officially downgraded his access to classified material from “top secret” to “secret,” barring the president’s son-in-law from accessing many of the administration’s most highly-classified materials. Although Kushner and Kelly have clashed over this issue in recent weeks, Kushner has reportedly accepted the downgrade and “will not ask for special permission” from Trump to maintain his usual access. The change, which also affects more than a dozen other administration staffers who have yet to receive a permanent clearance, comes a week after Kelly pledged to implement new controls to ensure all officials who handle the government’s most sensitive information have been thoroughly vetted. Kushner’s permanent security clearance has stalled in the Justice Department for over a year, reportedly due to the complexity of his financial holdings and personal contacts around the world. Compounding the problem, Kushner bungled the initial filing of the SF-86 questionnaire that forms the basis of the clearance process. After his initial submission of the form in January, Kushner had to submit corrections to his answers three different times: first the day after the form was filed, then again in May, and June. It’s unclear for now how much longer Kushner will have to wait before his full access is restored. Earlier this week, the Justice Department reportedly told the White House that “substantial issues” about Kushner still required investigation, and would “significantly delay” their clearance decision; two officials told the Washington Post this month they did not expect Kushner to receive a permanent clearance “in the near future.” Read more... |
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| | One More Thing—It was a bad news day for Kushner all around: The Washington Post also reported Tuesday that foreign officials in at least four countries had discussed ways to use Kushner’s “complex business arrangements, financial difficulties, and lack of foreign policy experience” to manipulate the president’s son-in-law. From the report: Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.
It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner’s contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said. | |
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| | 2020 Watch—Only a year into his first term, President Trump has already begun to build a campaign team for his 2020 reelection effort. The Drudge Report announced Tuesday that Trump is tapping Brad Parscale, his digital strategist from the 2016 campaign, to be his campaign manager next time around. | |
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| | President Trump’s shifting array of policy suggestions to improve school safety and keep guns out of the hands of unstable people have left many people confused about which policies the White House will actually endorse. Among the confused: the White House communications office. The administration’s press officers offered conflicting opinions this week about where Trump stands on a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21. On Monday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley pointed out that the age change had not come up in a meeting between Trump and the nation’s governors, and noted that “when they don’t bring it up, that’s very telling.” Gidley also acknowledged that such a proposal would be “very inconsistent,” given that 18 is the age of responsibility for many federal laws. Nevertheless, press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Tuesday afternoon that Trump still supported raising the limit to 21 “for the purchase of certain firearms.” “We’re meeting with bipartisan members of Congress tomorrow,” Sanders said. “We’re not going to get into the details on the specifics of what we will propose, but we expect that to be part of the conversation tomorrow.” | |
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| | Mark It Down—“We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the high standards in the FISA court. Yes, it will be investigated.” —Attorney General Jeff Sessions on whether the Justice Department will investigate alleged abuses of the FISA court related to the Russia investigation, February 27, 2018 | |
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| | Russia Watch—White House communications director Hope Hicks answered questions about her work on the Trump campaign and in the White House for more than eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday. Hicks testified in closed session, but the New York Times reported on sections of her comments: Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.
But after extended consultation with her lawyers, she insisted that she had not lied about matters material to the investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to Trump associates, according to three people familiar with her testimony. | |
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| | 2018 Watch—Tennessee Senator Bob Corker announced Tuesday that he will retire in 2018 after all, five months after he announced his current term would be his last and less than a month after he was reported to be reconsidering. “The senator believes he made the right decision in September and will be leaving the Senate when his term expires at the end of 2018,” Corker’s chief of staff Todd Womack said Tuesday. The announcement clears the way for Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn to become the Republican nominee for Corker’s seat and simplifies the 2018 midterms for President Trump, who publicly feuded with Corker last year. As I reported earlier this month, Trump’s reticence to throw his weight behind Corker likely contributed to the senator’s decision to hang up his skates after all. | |
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| Song of the Day—“The Wrote and the Writ,” Johnny Flynn
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