Raja Authors Letter To FBI Requesting National Security Vulnerabilities Created By Kushner's Failure To Disclose Contacts

Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Oversight Committee called upon acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe to inform Congress of the counterintelligence and national security vulnerabilities created by White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner’s reported failure to disclose more than 100 foreign contacts on his security clearance application. These undisclosed interactions included meeting with representatives of the Kremlin and a lawyer purported to be a Russian government agent illicitly offering the Trump campaign information on behalf of the Putin regime.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi released the following statement on his letter to acting FBI Director McCabe:

“Today I wrote to the FBI’s leadership to request they inform Congress as to the counterintelligence and national security vulnerabilities created by Mr. Kushner’s repeated failure to disclose his meetings with representatives of the Kremlin and entities closely aligned with it. A full and accurate application for a security clearance is essential for identifying an applicant’s vulnerabilities to bribery, extortion, and blackmail. Additionally, the failure to accurately complete a security clearance application, the SF-86 form, can itself leave an individual compromised to foreign influence, as former acting Attorney General Sally Yates noted about General Michael Flynn’s similar omissions.

In light of these serious concerns, I hope the FBI will provide Congress with the relevant information as to both the ongoing risks associated with a high-ranking official failing to disclose foreign contacts as well as the reasons for such an official repeatedly failing to do so yet still keeping his security clearance. Lastly, I’ve asked the Bureau to make recommendations to improve the process of obtaining a security clearance to prevent these issues and vulnerabilities.”