Congressman Dan Goldman Works to Prevent Presidential Exploitation of the Security Clearance Approval Process

 

 

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressmen Don Beyer (VA-08) and Ted Lieu (CA-36) in introducing the ‘Security Clearance Review Act,’ which would reform the process by which security clearances are approved for political appointees in the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The bill comes amid recent reports suggesting President-elect Donald Trump and his advisors intend to bypass traditional background checks and grant security clearances to Trump’s political appointees.  

 

This legislation would codify the FBI’s role in conducting background check investigations of political appointees within EOP, and it would require congressional notification in cases where the President overrules the FBI in granting EOP employees access to classified information. 

 

“The FBI’s security clearance vetting process is critical to our national security, and Donald Trump should not overrule the FBI’s thorough process to give our national secrets to whomever happens to curry his favor,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “Throughout his first term and afterward, Trump has shown utter contempt for our classified intelligence and the men and women who risk their lives to obtain it. He provided a security clearance to his son-in-law Jared Kushner – against FBI recommendations – and revealed classified information to our adversaries. I am proud to join Congressman Don Beyer’s Security Clearance Review Act to ensure our national secrets are properly protected. 

 

Congressman Don Beyer said, “During his first presidency, Donald Trump secretly gave favored staffers and family members access to our most sensitive classified information despite serious objections raised by career staff and his own Chief of Staff. Early signs suggest he will be even more brazen in subverting the integrity of the security clearance process in his second term. Congress must not allow corruption to threaten our national security. The Security Clearance Review Act would prevent untrustworthy people with major security concerns from secretly being given access to our most sensitive intelligence ever again, adding crucial Congressional oversight to the process.” 

 

Congressman Ted Lieu said, “Individuals advising the President must be trustworthy public servants. In his first term in the White House, President Donald Trump appointed members of his own family to senior staff positions over the objections of then-Chief of Staff John Kelly. Not only is this practice an abuse of the security clearance process that many government employees are subject to, it poses serious risks to our nation’s safety and security. The Security Clearance Review Act would ensure that appointees in the Executive Office of the President are properly vetted and prevent untrustworthy individuals from gaining access to sensitive intelligence information.” 

 

During Donald Trump’s first presidency, a whistleblower revealed Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had been secretly granted access to classified intelligence by President Trump over the objections of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and career staff responsible for vetting new employees. 

 

The ‘Security Clearance Review Act’ would: 

 

Congressman Goldman remains committed to protecting democracy from those who wish to undermine and destroy it.  

 

Last week, Goldman introduced a resolution re-affirming that the 22nd Amendment is explicit in prohibiting Presidents who have served two full terms from running for the Presidency again and condemn President-Elect Donald Trump’s frequent statements suggesting he could serve past the end of his most recent term. 

 

In October, the Congressman cosponsored the ‘Investigative Integrity Protection Act,’ which would prevent a sitting president from dismissing an active criminal prosecution against him or herself, including through coercion of an attorney general by the president or anyone acting on the president’s behalf.   

 

Upon becoming a member of Congress, Goldman was chosen to sit on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, where he serves as a bulwark against Republican overreach and politicized investigations designed to undermine President Biden and Democrats.    

 

Congressman Dan Goldman is a member of the House Task Force for Strengthening Democracy and served as Lead Counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.