Weeks before the results of the 2016 presidential election, Republicans started to make the argument that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton should have her Security Clearance revoked should she become president. The reasons for this was due to the fact that Republicans did not trust her with access over the partisan view that she had a home email server that handled classified information while she was Secretary of State. On Sunday, congressional Democrats suggested that White House advisor jared kushner's access might also need to be revoked.
Jared Kushner's back-channel communication request
With Donald Trump as president, he gave his son-in-law Jared Kushner an advisory position in the White House and therefore a security clearance that might be in jeopardy over reports that Kushner tried to establish a secure back-channel to communicate with Russian officials. In the documentation of the Washington Post's report by Blasting News, it points out that Kushner had apparently already established a similar route of communication with Chinese officials prior to Trump's inauguration. Blasting News has also reported on Kushner's business dealings in China, a country that has seen a lot of activity for the Kushner and Trump brand lately.
Specifically, those connections to Chinese officials appeared to have been established with the help of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who served during the Nixon administration.
The controversy with the Chinese appears to have more to do with conflicts of interest for the administration. In a similar gesture as with Democrats -- as Blasting News reported -- the Office of Government Ethics demanded that the White House turn over names and waivers for lobbyists which the Trump administration has embedded throughout the government.
Mick Mulvaney, on behalf of the White House, refused to give this information, questioning the OGE's authority before it was reported that they agreed to turn them over.
Fallout over communications
As with Kushner -- who reportedly said he would cooperate with investigators -- Democrats are very supportive of the special prosecutor named to investigate the President's possible connection with Russian officials, while Republicans are trying to find some footing of support for the administration despite all the controversies.
Its been reported that Kushner's back-channel suggestion was brought up with Russian officials while the administration's former national security advisor Gen. Michael Flynn was in the room, who was forced to resign after his attempt to collude with Russian officials was discovered. Its been reported that there was no need for Kushner's attempt to establish that back-channel because Rex Tillerson would be confirmed as Secretary of State and it would be his job, anyway.
