That Jared Kushner omitted 100-plus foreign contacts on his Standard Form 86 security clearance, sought to set up a secret backchannel to the Kremlin, and could well be subject to blackmail by the Russians given the accumulation of seedy secrets that now trail him like bread crumbs is of no concern to Republicans who sit on the House Appropriations Committee. They unanimously voted Thursday to kill an amendment that would have revoked Kushner's security clearance, writes Huffington Post's Igor Bobic:
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who chaired the Democratic National Committee during much of last year’s campaign cycle, proposed an amendment targeting Kushner during a House Appropriations Committee markup session Thursday. It was voted down, 22-30, along party lines.
The measure would have barred the government from issuing or maintaining a security clearance for any White House individual “under a criminal investigation by a Federal law enforcement agency for aiding a foreign government.”
Wasserman Schultz also attempted to introduce an amendment that would bar the government from issuing or maintaining a security clearance for White House staff who “deliberately fail” to disclose meetings with foreign nationals. It was voted down by the same margin.
Republicans, who have misplaced both their minds and their consciences, called the move a "political stunt." Texas Rep. John Culberson said the measure was unnecessary because "security clearances can already be revoked because of criminal conduct.”
Except, to state the obvious, Kushner's clearance hasn’t been revoked that we know of. Also, in case you forgot your oath of office, Culberson:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
The commitment is to the U.S. Constitution, not the president, not the Republican Party.
