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The White House's senior advisor and president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has received permanent security clearance from the White House. Sam Berman of Veuer has complete history.
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has personally ordered his former chief of staff John Kelly to grant a very secret security clearance to his son-in-law Jared Kushner, despite the authorities' concerns, according to the press.

the New York Times and Washington Post reported on Thursday that Kelly documented Trump's request in a memo. Both outlets cited unnamed sources. USA TODAY did not check the claims and Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary, said, "We do not comment on security clearances."

Trump's directive would have occurred last year amid concerns by White House officials about Kushner's clearance level. The reports completely contradict the president's comments, in which Trump said that he had nothing to do with Kushner's permission.

the Time reported that former White House lawyer Don McGahn had documented his concerns regarding Kushner's authorization in a memo. The paper said the causes of such concerns about Kushner's security level were unclear.

Kushner, a senior adviser to the president, got a permanent permit last May after nearly three months in limbo security.

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Responding to reports of Trump's conduct on Thursday, Representative Elijah Cummings, Chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, issued a warning to the White House.

He added that the committee, which is investigating the security clearance process at the White House, had not received any of the requested documents regarding security clearance.

"The committee expects its demands to be fully met as soon as possible, otherwise it may be necessary to consider other means to compel them to comply", said Cummings.

Council of Parliamentary Intelligence representative Adam Schiff also commented on Thursday night, saying in a statement that the reports revealed Trump's "complete disregard for our national security".

"There is no exception of nepotism for background investigations," he said.

Kushner's attorney previously stated that his client had completed the background check process and that this had been delayed in part because he had failed to fully report on his contacts with foreign nationals.

"His application was properly submitted, reviewed by career managers and followed the usual process," said lawyer Abbe Lowell in a statement at the time. "Once these processes are completed, Mr. Kushner looks forward to continuing the work that the President has asked him to do."

Kushner's permission to access top secret information was revoked in February 2018 after Kelly declared a moratorium on temporary security clearances.

Kushner was the most famous of the many White House staffers caught in the wake of a scandal involving Rob Porter, secretary of the White House staff, accused by ex-women of spousal abuse. Porter's security clearance was stalled for almost a year while he was working on a provisional authorization – although he still has access to almost all classified and unclassified documents going in and out of oval office.

Kelly left his position as Trump's chief of staff at the beginning of the year after a series of internal tensions in public view.

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