Jared Kushner’s security clearance

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It has to stop. Jared Kushner is completely embroiled in the Trump-Russia scandal, but he is also getting private top-secret national security briefings every day.¹

Federal investigators are scrutinizing Kushner’s contacts with the Russian ambassador and a Russian banker with close ties to Putin and Russian intelligence.² There are also reports that Kushner discussed creating a secret communication channel between the Russian government and the Trump transition team to shield their communications from monitoring.^3,4

The red flags about Kushner’s involvement with Russia keep growing. At the same time, congressional Republicans continue to block an independent investigation into Trump’s Russia ties and Robert Mueller’s Department of Justice investigation is just getting started. While we wait to get real answers, Kushner should not have access to sensitive national security information. It is time to suspend Kushner’s security clearance.

Tell the FBI and the National Background Investigations Bureau: Immediately take steps to suspend Jared Kushner’s security clearance until an independent Trump-Russia investigation is complete. Click here to sign the petition

In April, the New York Times reported that Kushner failed to disclose numerous meetings with foreign officials when he applied for his security clearance in January.⁵ The meetings include at least one with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, and one with Sergey Gorkov, who was trained by Russian intelligence and is now the head of a Russian bank that is currently under U.S. sanctions and controlled by Putin’s government.

Kushner is the third Trump administration official who has failed to disclose meetings with Russian officials. Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing about his meetings with Kislyak.⁶ Former national security adviser Michael Flynn reportedly mislead investigators not only about contacts with Russian officials, but about income earned from Russian companies.⁷

The Trump administration seems to be in a state of near-constant mismanagement and chaos, with leaks and Russia bombshells coming on a regular basis. Donald Trump himself has leaked highly sensitive classified information to the Russian ambassador. Kushner is one of Trump’s closest advisers and it is clear that his ties to Russia raise major security concerns. In April, five House Democrats – including progressive champion Rep. Ted Lieu – called on the FBI and the National Background Investigations Bureau, which is part of the Office of Personnel Management, to suspend Kushner’s clearance.⁸ We need to ramp up the pressure on them to act.

Immediately take steps to suspend Jared Kushner’s security clearance until an independent Trump-Russia investigation is complete. Click the link below to sign the petition:

https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Kushner_Clearance?t=7&akid=23610.11103932.K-VCxf

Thanks for everything you do,

Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

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References:

1. Margaret Hartmann, “Jared Kushner gets his own daily intelligence briefing: Report,” New York Magazine, May 30, 2017.
2. Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay, “Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy – sources,” Reuters, May 27, 2017.
3. Matt Zapotosky, Sari Horwitz, Devlin Barrett and Adam Entous, “Jared Kushner now a focus in Russia investigation,” The Washington Post, May 25, 2017.
4. Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay, “Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy – sources.”
5. Jo Becker and Matthew Rosenberg, “Kushner omitted meeting with Russians on security clearance forms,” The New York Times, April 7, 2017.
6. Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, “Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not disclose,” The Washington Post, March 1, 2017.
7. Mark Mazzetti and Matthew Rosenberg, “Michael Flynn misled Pentagon about Russia ties, letter says,” The New York Times, May 22, 2017.
8. Mary Papenfuss, “Dems Challenge Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance Over Hidden Russian Meetings,” HuffPost, April 13, 2017.