Problems with security clearance for White House aides surfaced this month in fallout over the abrupt resignation of White House staff secretary Rob Porter over allegations of domestic abuse against two former wives. Kelly a week ago set Friday as the deadline for adjudicating the cases of Kushner and others in clearance limbo. Trump, at a joint news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said: “General Kelly respects Jared a lot and General Kelly will make that call” on how to resolve the issue. Trump has the option of simply granting a security clearance to Kushner, but officials wanted to avoid that option. Kelly said in a statement on Thursday that he would not comment on anyone’s specific security clearance situation.

Source: Huffington Post February 23, 2018 22:52 UTC