Page 25 - Security Clearance Process News Today

Guarding of government secrets from your lifetime? >> well, theres a reason why we have a security clearance process. and if someone doesnt get it, its not enough to say he wasnt denied it, he wasnt granted it. he should have never had access to the top secret things. when i was in the peptgon had a code word that was a protected pass, so i cant tell you the name of my clearance or the information i learned during time, even now many years later. and we want to protection the information that is...

Welcome back, everybody. it is the bottom of the hour. lets start with the mornings top stories. the white house is working to try and contain the fallout over what officials knew and when about domestic violence allegations against a former top aide. >> but in an extraordinary moment the director of the fbi threw a wrench in what the white house says actually happened. kristen welker has more. >> reporter: the white house on defense amid questions about whether top officials here were trying to...

Understand. >> and bob, when the white house -- when the fbi director in his very measured tone ran methodically through these four different steps in the security clearance process for mr. porter, ending, of course, in the fact he was not cleared to work in this job at this title, did that indicate anything to you like it could be fatal for someone at the other end like a general kelly? >> its very hard to say who knew what when based on the public reporting up to this point. but one thing is c...

That has been used by previous administrations. >> no, they are not. the processes of the trump administration are unique to the trump administration, including the process of obtaining security clearances for white house personnel like jared kushner. who still does not have a security clearance. some estimates indicate as many as 40 people in the trump white house do not have the security clearance that is required for their jobs. and now the security clearance process has completely undone the...

Fbi. intelligence officials have told me lot of these things are being held up because of lingering questions in the security process and as the fbi has said its really up to the white house to issue these clearances once they have a recommends dags from the fbi. you can be involved on this at times. what is your explanation for how thisworks? >> ive asked the inspector general to investigate the security clearance process in the white house. this report by cnn is chilling. it indicates that a v...

Knew the full extent of these allegations, which are absolutely credible, and if somebody did know the full extent and they didnt report that to the president, then if im the president, i want to get rid of them. >> they did know. the fbi called the white house counsel to tell them. >> we dont know the full extent. >> the fbi called the white house -- >> you know, lets -- [ overlapping voices ] >> lets talk to somebody who used to run the cia to learn about the security clearance process. theres...

If it was, however, an effort to stall and push back and minimize what the fbi was telling the white house, well, thats -- im not using the word criminal in the criminal-legal sense, but thats criminal in terms of the type of behavior that would be protected. >> we know from plenty of reporting thats been done that rob porter was relaying his version of events to both chief of staff kelly and white house counsel don mcgahn. first and foremost to white house counsel mcgahn, so i do suspect it was...

Than defend his agency and their security clearance process and come with a timeline of his own. the problem now for the white house is compounded here. because his timeline is different from theirs. he makes it very clear that at least by the fall, at least by the fall that there was knowledge in the white house about this. and i think the question that jeff zeleny raises is the right question, which is, who knew what when? when did don mcgahn know? did don mcgahn go to kelly? did don mcgahn ke...

>> i think this brings the white house to a decision. this either flushes out what they have refused to go into detail on which theyve repeatedly said were not going into details on the investigation, were not going into the details about the security clearance process, were not going into details about the timeline. they have a decision to make. either they move off of that, because i think they have to which would be incumbent in the wake of what we saw in the hearing, or they continue down th...

Could be? >> we do share concerns about the confusicius institutes. we have been watching that development for a while. it is one of many tools that they take advantage of. we have seen some decrease recently in their own enthusiasm and commitment to that particular program but it is something that were watching warily and in certain instances have developed appropriate investigative steps. >> thank you, mr. chairman. vice chairman warner highlighted in his opening statement the importance of an...