Ok. I know I’m not the first person to point this out, but the news keeps doing it, so ... can we PLZ stop acting like interim security clearances aren’t real? The problem is not THAT someone has an interim clearance. The problems are:
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1. Interim clearances generally go up only to secret, some cases TS, but NEVER to TS-SCI, so lots of these ppl (incl Porter and Kushner) have probably been looking at stuff above their clearance level (if Kushner is receiving PDB, there’s potentially SCI stuff in there) ...
2. If the background check is done and someone is simply refusing to adjudicate the clearance because they know they have to turn it down, that’s an abuse of the system ...
3. If lots of people who *could* get clearance aren’t getting adjudicated because the adjudicating authority knows there are a few important ppl who will get turned down, that’s an abuse of the system ...
4. Look, the Pres can grant ppl security clearances even if they don’t pass the requirements, but then the public would be aware of the fact that specific ppl had to be “waived” in, and that’s important for the public to know ...
5. It looks like certain ppl are being protected from that transparency, & that = possible mis-handling of classified materials. But it’s not the interim-ness of the clearances that makes it inappropriate. It’s the level of class and the fact that the process is being abused.
P.S. just b/c one has an e.g. TS clearance does NOT mean they can look at any TS material they want to. Classified material is subject to the need-to-know rule, so that’s another possible area of mis-handling ...
For a much longer, more in-depth discussion, see @MarkSZaidEsq ‘s thread about this topic.
