The White House made a quiet decision to no longer give new interim security clearances for anyone in the executive office of the president last November, Politico reported on Wednesday.
According to an email obtained by Politico, however, the discreet directive did permit staffers who had already been granted interim security clearances — such as former staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned last week amid allegations of domestic abuse — to continue holding them.
Although the email does not explain the reason for the new policy, it does appear to indicate that officials in the personnel security office, and maybe others in the White House, were aware as far back as last year of the potential problems of overreliance on interim security clearances.
The White House declined to comment on the email or the policy change it described.
The revelation of the policy change revealed in the email comes as senior White House officials have struggled to explain why they allowed Porter to stay in his position, despite the existence of a protective order granted to one of his ex-wives.
On Tuesday FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency gave the Trump administration information multiple times last year about the domestic abuse accusations against Porter and the investigation wrapped up in January, News18 reported.
That account seemed to contradict the White House version of the timeline that Porter's background "investigation was ongoing" and that officials first learned the extent of accusations against him only last week, just before he abruptly resigned.
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