Michael Atkinson, inspector general of the intelligence community, has turned down a request from Senate Democrats to investigate the White House’s handling of security clearances for Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, NBC News is reporting.
Atkinson, in a letter to Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and three other senators, wrote that he could only conduct an investigation if President Donald Trump asked him to.
"The authority over access to classified information ultimately rests with the president of the United States," Atkinson wrote to Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, and the other senators.
"It is well-established that the President of the United States has broad latitude concerning the process through which security clearances are granted, transferred, or revoked, as well as broad flexibility in determining whom to choose as his advisers and to what extent those advisors may gain access to information, including national security information."
And he added: "Given the concerns raised by your letter, the ICIG is available and willing to conduct a review, similar to that suggested in your letter, at the request of the president or his designees."
As a result, Warner, and Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, and Jack Reed of Rhode Island asked Trump in a letter to order a probe.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April, The Washington Post had reported that Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, was denied a security clearance last year by the White House personnel security office but the decision was overruled by a political appointee.
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