Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked secret information on surveillance programs, zinged the Trump White House over staffers being unable to obtain security clearances.
“I got a security clearance faster than half of this White House,” Snowden tweeted Monday.
I got a security clearance faster than half of this White House. https://t.co/hYYWy6wHIe
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 12, 2018
Dozens of Trump administration officials have not yet obtained permanent security clearances, including President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the recently departed Rob Porter.
The administration’s trouble obtaining the clearances was pushed into the spotlight last week amid allegations that Porter was physically and verbally abusive to his two ex-wives. The FBI had yet to complete Porter’s background check, and Porter’s ex-wives had reportedly detailed the alleged abuse during the background check process.
Kushner has been trying to obtain a security clearance for almost a year. The Washington Post reported last week that Kushner’s extensive business and foreign ties or his role in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation could continue to stall his permanent security clearance.
