President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has received his permanent security clearance, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Kushner's FBI background checks had dragged on for a year, fueling speculation he was perhaps under a cloud and a security threat due to evidence uncovered in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
White House officials have denied this was the case and emphasized the lengthy process was not unusual for a government official who has a complicated financial history and many foreign contacts.
It was also stressed Kushner's clearances were approved by career officials after the completion of the FBI background check and the president was not involved at all in the process.
CNN pointed out, however, Kushner's perceived troubles were compounded at least in part because his initial security clearance application did not list dozens of foreign contacts that he included in later updated submissions to the FBI.
The Mueller probe particularly hung over Kushner's status in the White House because some of the incidents under investigation relate to his role during the campaign and the transition.
Kushner was among several White House officials who had to work on provisional clearances during the first year of the administration, according to The New York Times. This meant he was allowed to view classified information while his background check was pending.
Those clearances, however, were taken away in February under a new White House policy, although an interim clearance did give him access to some of the nation's biggest secrets, including the presidential daily brief.
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