WASHINGTON (AP) — The New York Times reports that President Donald Trump last year ordered officials to grant a top-secret security clearance to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Kushner was granted a security clearance last May after a lengthy background check.
The Times, citing anonymous sources, says Trump demanded Kushner’s clearance despite the concerns of intelligence officials, then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and then-White House counsel Don McGahn.
Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell, responded Thursday to the Times story with a statement, saying, “In 2018, White House and security clearance officials affirmed that Mr. Kushner’s security clearance was handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone.”
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders declined to comment on the Times story.
Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka.
