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Edward Snowden Boasts That He Got Security Clearance Faster Than ‘Half Of This White House’
Summary: On Monday, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden (who leaked thousands of documents exposing the NSA’s eavesdropping) tweeted that he won government security clearance “faster than half of this White House.” Snowden replied to a tweet by Journalist Barton Gellman (who writes about the government, privacy and security) which stated that it’s “highly unusual” for so many in the Trump administration to be still lacking permanent clearance after this much time. Yet they still have access to sensitive information. Last week The Washington Post reported that “dozens” of White House staffers are still waiting for permanent security clearances including former representative Porter and Jared Kushner (who is still involved in the Russia investigation). It’s particularly unusual for someone at Kushner’s level to not be cleared as someone at that level should not have to wait wait more than three months for the permanent security clearance. Also, Lawyer Mark Zaid (who represents government workers going through the clearance process) said in a tweet replying to Gellman, that it’s not that unusual that so many people still lack permanent security clearance.
7 comments:
It may not be uncommon for so many government employees to lack clearance, but it does not seem like a commendable practice. Government employees should be able to respond to issues at hand, without waiting a year for clearance. These high level employees would not be able to do a decent amount of work without clearance, and I’m not sure who would do this work while employees wait for their clearance.
I do think it is unusual for people at such a high level to be denied clearance, but I also think it is important for people to be screened thoroughly. If there is a reason their clearance is being slowed, if they are under review or something like that, I think it is justified even given their high positions. If it is taking a long time just because of government incompetence, then of course we should try to address the problem in some way so that these people can more effectively do their jobs.
High level officials should be vetted before coming into the white house. The vetting should be thorough and it is fine that they have not gained permanent access to the white house yet. If it is taking a long time just because of government incompetence, then of course we should try to address the problem in some way so that these people can more effectively do their jobs.
I believe that there is a reason that these government employees lack clearance. I agree with Lydia that it is important for these people to have their backgrounds checked throughly. It is important that we are letting the correct people get their hands on this classified information. We should not question this because there must be a reason that this clearance is taking so long.
I agree with many of the previous commenters. High level officials should be able to access the white house if they're job requires that they do so, but if it takes time to thoroughly examine their past to make sure they pose no threat then I think time is something easy to give. If it is taking a long time just because of beaurocratic inefficiency, then I believe the problem should be addressed.
I agree with the comments above, High level officials should be have complete background checks to ensure absolute safety. I think it's a bold move of Snowden to type something like that, considering he's a wanted criminal here. Maybe this excessive period of wait is a necssary thing.
For the efficiency of the government I understand why others are stating that high ranking officials should have clearance, the Russian investigation puts so many confounding variables that muddle the issue. Some of Trumps appointees have previously been investigated for colluding with Russia even prior to the election which is highly suspicious along with those that are currently under investigation. While these officials are under investigation I believe there should be temporary replacements and if or when Kushner and others are cleared then they should be given clearance, until then they should remain outside of politics.
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