Whistleblower Says That Dozens of National Security Clearance Denials Were Overturned by Trump Officials

The entire Republican Party spent two years dog-piling on Hillary Clinton over her emails and use of a private server. Time and time again, they said she could not be trusted on issues of national security. Now these same Republicans continue to back Donald Trump and his administration, despite one clear national security failure after another.

White House security adviser Tricia Newfold, an 18-year veteran of the White House, who has worked for multiple administrations, has informed Congress that 25 people in the Trump administration have been given security clearances despite failing to pass the necessary background checks. These individuals had been denied clearances, but the denials were reversed “despite concerns about their ties to foreign influence, conflicts of interests, questionable or criminal conduct, financial problems or drug abuse.” 

After serving as a White House security adviser for 18 years, through both Republican and Democratic administrations, Tricia Newbold is taking her concerns directly to Congress.  “I would not be doing a service to myself, my country, or my children if I sat back knowing that the issues that we have could impact national security,” Newbold told the House Government Oversight committee.

Newbold also detailed an unusually high number of temporary clearances that give access to classified information to people who would never actually get a permanent clearance.

Newbold's supervisor, Carl Kline, has also accused by the suspended official, Tricia Newbold, of rampant discrimination based on her sex and disability.  When Newbold began raising red flags, she said, she was retaliated against, including a suspension she says was unwarranted.

The suspension, Newbold alleges, is a reprisal for a complaint she filed against Kline accusing him of aggressive behavior and discriminating against her as a woman with a rare form of dwarfism. Her allegations include that he placed files she needed to work on out of her reach.  "It was almost like a game. It was disgusting," Newbold said. "I was completely humiliated. It was the first time in my life I haven't been able to do my job because I couldn't reach it."

Newbold also accused Kline of telling her to stand down on concerns about another senior White House official, called “Official 2” by the panel. She said one of her colleagues wrote a 14-page summary of why they were planning to deny the application. But when she told Kline of her plan to agree with her colleague on the matter, Kline “instructed Ms. Newbold, ‘do not touch’ the case.”  Kline later approved the security clearance, she said.

In addition to accusations that Kline broke the law, Newbold claims he fostered an environment of toxic discrimination not just against women but against her in particular because of her short stature (she stands 4 feet, 2 inches). He was so aggressive and angry, she says, that a colleague told her, "I thought he was going to hit you."