House Democrats Ramp Up Pressure on White House Security Clearances

Newly empowered congressional Democrats are focusing their oversight powers on the Trump White House’s handling of the security clearance process, seeking to bring in the Justice Department to consider possible criminal violations. Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Don Beyer, D-Va., on Tuesday wrote to Attorney General William Barr in reaction to a New York Times report last week suggesting that President Trump had instructed then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to overrule the intelligence community recommendation against a full clearance for Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.