Kellyanne Conway defended President Trump after reports surfaced that he ordered his former chief of staff to grant Jared Kushner top-secret security access
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, claimed Friday that President Donald Trump has the "absolute right" to order that security clearances be approved, following a report that the president did so for son-in-law Jared Kushner despite other officials' misgivings.
"We don't discuss security clearances. I won't discuss my own," she said during an interview on Fox News. "I will tell you the president has the absolute right to do what was described."Trump "ordered" his former chief of staff John Kelly to grant Kushner top-secret security access, the New York Times reported Thursday, which Kelly reportedly described in an internal memo around that time.
The Times reported that Kelly, White House counsel Don McGahn and U.S. intelligence officials all objected to giving Kushner a top-secret clearance, but the full scope of their concerns is unknown.with the Times in January.Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox.By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
White House adviser Ivanka Trump, who is also Kushner's wife and the president's daughter, also said that her father “had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband’s clearance" during anWhen asked about Ivanka Trump speaking out about the security clearances, Conway maintained that the White House is not allowed to speak about it but that the president's daughter has the "right" to do so.
"We don't as a White House generally comment on security clearances," Conway said. "If Ivanka Trump chose to comment, she has knowledge some of us don't have and she has the right to do that."
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