Trump administration’s former security chief to give evidence to congressional panel, White House reveals
A former White House official has agreed to answer questions over allegations that the Trump administration improperly granted security clearances to some of the president’s advisers.
Carl Kline, the former White House Personnel Security Director, has offered to appear before the House oversight committee for an on-the-record interview, accompanied by his lawyers.
“We understand the scope of the interview will be limited to White House personnel security policies and practices, consistent with our prior offers for Mr. Kline’s voluntary cooperation with the Committee,” Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, wrote in a letter to Jim Jordan, a Republican member of the committee.
He added that Mr Kline was available to appear before the House of Representatives panel on 1 May.
The White House’s agreement comes after a whistleblower told the committee that officials had acted questionably while granting security clearances.
Tricia Newbold, a manager in the Personnel Security Office, told the oversight committee earlier this month that 25 individuals including two current senior White House officials, and contractors and employees working for Donald Trump were granted clearances after being denied them initially.
She said the reasons the applications were rejected included “foreign influence, conflicts of interest, concerning personal conduct, financial problems, drug use, and criminal conduct.”
The committee is scrutinising the security clearances obtained by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, according to two Reuters sources.
The president’s daughter and son-in-law allegedly obtained high level clearances despite security officials advising against the move.
Ms Newbold was suspended from her job in January after making the allegations.
Her former boss, Mr Kline, agreed to appear before the oversight committee only after Mr Jordan wrote to the Trump administration and urged the White House to agree to a voluntary interview.
The committee has already subpoenaed Mr Kline, compelling him to testify under oath, but on Friday the White House appeared to ignore the subpoena.
In his letter, Mr Cipollone said the subpoena was ”unnecessary” in light of the “additional accommodation offer made over three weeks ago” for the voluntary appearance.
The White House had earlier advised Mr Kline to defy the subpoena.
The oversight committee then responded by threatening to hold the former official in contempt of Congress
It is unclear if Democrats on the oversight committee, including its chair Elijah Cummings, will accept the Trump administration’s new terms.
Additional reporting by agencies
