John Kelly -- Bringing Order to the West Wing?

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, candygirl200413 said:

I had to scream in a pillow cause I'm just so damn pissed right now.

To me it feels like screaming into a jet engine. People who thought John Kelly was an okay man because of his quite demeanor need to take a closer look. He is just as much a racist fuck as Trump, Miller, Bannon and all the rest. I want to go kick some walls. None of them have any redeeming qualities, none. 

[Howl]

He's really starting to piss me off, bigly. 

[WiseGirl]

Reading the title of this thread, Bringing Order rpto the West Wing? 

I have to vote no. I had hopes he would, but nope. Instead he is bringing his own racist agenda to the West Wing. No wonder agent orange picked him. Birds of a feather...

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Wow: "John Kelly allowed a senior staffer to stay without a clearance despite damning evidence of spousal abuse"

Spoiler

The Post reports:

A senior White House official announced Wednesday he is resigning following allegations by his two ex-wives of physical and emotional abuse.

The official, Rob Porter, served as the staff secretary and often controlled the paper flow to President Trump’s desk, along with his daily schedule. Porter also oversaw the White House’s policy implementation process and worked closely with Chief of Staff John F. Kelly to try to instill discipline in the chaotic West Wing. He spent hours of the day with Trump and frequently traveled with him on Air Force One.

Porter’s first wife, Colbie Holderness, said in an interview with the DailyMail.com that he was abusive during their marriage and alleged he punched in her the face during a trip to Florence in the early 2000s and provided photos to the publication showing her with a black eye. . . . One of Porter’s ex-wives, Jennifer Willoughby, received a temporary emergency protective order in June 2010 after saying he refused to leave her residence in violation of their separation agreement. The document, a copy of which was obtained by The Post, concludes that “reasonable grounds exist to believe that [Porter] has committed family abuse and there is probable danger of a further such offense.”

Even more horrifying is that the FBI was informed of these allegations while conducting a background check. As a result, Porter lacked a top security clearance. And, to top it off, Politico reports, “a senior administration official said Kelly was previously aware of the 2010 protective order, which prevented Porter from getting a full security clearance.” It is not clear whether Trump was informed.

“There are two overlapping scandals here. First, that he was allowed to stay in his job at all after two former spouses told the FBI that he abused them,” Matt Miller, a former Department of Justice spokesman, told me. “Second, he was apparently allowed to continue in a job where you are required to constantly handle classified information despite his having been denied a full security clearance.” Miller added: “We need to know who signed off on each, and, unless there is some explanation that has not yet been made public, those people are most likely going to need to resign as well.”

But, of course, this White House has a peculiar standard when alleged abusive behavior is at issue, beginning with the president, who was accused during the campaign — by nearly 20 women — of sexual harassment and/or assault. More from the Politico report: “The White House has also continued to consider finding a role for former Carl’s Jr. head Andy Puzder, who withdrew from consideration to be Labor Secretary in 2017 after Politico reported that his ex-wife had accused him of domestic abuse during a 1990 appearance on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ Puzder denies the allegations and his ex-wife subsequently defended him and said she regretted appearing on the show.”

Additionally, Trump endorsed Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, who had been accused by multiple women of sexual assault when they were minors. The president has also verbally derided women both during the campaign and in office, intimating at one point that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) traded sex for campaign money.

It is interesting that, say, an FBI agent wouldn’t in all likelihood be allowed to remain in his post with such evidence of domestic abuse pending. A former FBI special agent told me: “Usually if charged with domestic abuse, one would not be able to carry a firearm, and therefore would have to surrender their position or change their role in the government at a minimum.”

This administration’s attitude and treatment toward women is as deplorable as it is predictable. The GOP rallied around a presidential candidate — and later a president — who admitted on the “Access Hollywood” tape that he had sexually assaulted women. Is it any wonder that women’s complaints of abuse were not taken as grounds for disqualifying someone to serve on that president’s staff?

Kelly’s conduct is nearly inexplicable. At any other White House, Porter would not have been hired and, if he was brought on board, all those responsible for such a gross misjudgment would be fired. I expect nothing will happen to Kelly. He’s Trump’s kind of guy.

Going back to what we have said repeatedly -- if Hillary had won and her chief of staff allowed someone who couldn't pass a background check to remain in the west wing, the Repugs would have been storming the WH with pitchforks and torches.

[AmazonGrace]

https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/961910990626533376

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/961910990626533376

That just makes me so angry. What an utter asshole!

Makes you wonder how he treats his wife... 

[GrumpyGran]

So, will he go today? Ivanka is putting the pressure on, apparently. And Daddy wants to fire someone, anyone.

As for this turd, my dear hubs is retired military and it makes me breathless that people publicly shout about "respecting" the military, as if someone who has served in the military is incapable of bad behavior. Hey guys, Timothy McVeigh was in the military! It's where he actually got that attitude that led him to kill 168 people.

And don't get me started about how former high-ranking military are spotless and unimpeachable. When my first hub and I were together I learned one of the favorite sayings among the troops. Fuck up and move up. The military, especially among officers, is VERY political.

The varnish has worn off of Kelly now and I think working for Dumpy has driven him around the bend. He has always had this attitude but he hid it fairly well before. Now he is in the echo chamber and has lost perspective. When everyone is shouting and spewing bile, you probably can't hear how offensive you own less-horrific but still-horrific shit sounds.

I think Dump's tired of the Kelly bridle and this has been another embarrassment for him so who's to blame? The scary thing here is who will replace him? This will be a Jared n' Ivanka choice. They have such impressive friends so I can hardly wait!

[apple1]

... but Jared still also has no security clearance. Why? Inquiring minds want to know. While I would be surprised if it were domestic abuse in Jared's case, I would NOT be surprised if it were shady financial dealings with foreign entities, including ones bent on harming the US. (BTW - While without the security clearance, Jared represents the US for the purpose of brokering peace in the Middle East? Gah.)

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, GrumpyGran said:

So, will he go today? Ivanka is putting the pressure on, apparently. And Daddy wants to fire someone, anyone.

As for this turd, my dear hubs is retired military and it makes me breathless that people publicly shout about "respecting" the military, as if someone who has served in the military is incapable of bad behavior. Hey guys, Timothy McVeigh was in the military! It's where he actually got that attitude that led him to kill 168 people.

And don't get me started about how former high-ranking military are spotless and unimpeachable. When my first hub and I were together I learned one of the favorite sayings among the troops. Fuck up and move up. The military, especially among officers, is VERY political.

The varnish has worn off of Kelly now and I think working for Dumpy has driven him around the bend. He has always had this attitude but he hid it fairly well before. Now he is in the echo chamber and has lost perspective. When everyone is shouting and spewing bile, you probably can't hear how offensive you own less-horrific but still-horrific shit sounds.

I think Dump's tired of the Kelly bridle and this has been another embarrassment for him so who's to blame? The scary thing here is who will replace him? This will be a Jared n' Ivanka choice. They have such impressive friends so I can hardly wait!

Get #presidentkelly or presidentmiller trending and one of them will go. Or maybe #MrsHopeTrump

Edited February 9, 2018 by onekidanddone

[GrumpyGran]

I am a bit afraid that the choices if he goes are Miller, Jared or Ivanka. 

[onekidanddone]

Disorder in the house 
The doors are coming off the hinges 
The earth will open and swallow up the real estate

-Warren Zevon-

[fraurosena]

He's so close to getting a second thread here... but he just might fall before the finish line:

Sources: Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed to President Trump willingness to resign

Quote

President Donald Trump, furious over the handling of domestic abuse allegations involving one of his closest aides, has spoken to confidantes about the possibility of replacing embattled Chief of Staff John Kelly, sources close to the president tell ABC News.

One confidante — longtime friend and former executive chairman of his inaugural committee, Tom Barrack — was approached to gauge his interest in the chief of staff position, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. Barrack said he won’t take the job, the source said.

Kelly has made clear to the president in the last 24 hours that he's willing to resign in light of the president's dissatisfaction over the West Wing's handling of the allegations against former Staff Secretary Rob Porter, according to sources who have spoken with Trump and Kelly.

While Kelly’s fate is in question, sources familiar with the matter said they did not believe his departure is imminent. Kelly was seen working in the West Wing on Friday, leading his daily senior staff meeting and joining Trump in the Oval Office during an afternoon photo op.

Several Trump confidantes reached by ABC News said the president is considering multiple names as possible Kelly replacements, among those, top economic adviser Gary Cohn, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows.

Kelly, whose appointment as chief of staff was initially seen as an step towards restoring order and discipline, has been the subject of growing controversy over the past several weeks.

Kelly faced criticism earlier this week over comments labeling undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children as “lazy,” and received a public rebuke from President Trump after saying in an interview last month with Fox News that the president’s campaign promises regarding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border were “uninformed.”

But it was Kelly’s management of the most recent controversy involving Staff Secretary Porter that ignited a firestorm, after the Daily Mail published multiple allegations of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives.

In response to the story, Kelly issued an on-record statement calling Porter “a man of true integrity and honor” but making no mention of the alleged victims.

Under pressure, Porter offered his resignation Wednesday afternoon. It wasn’t until late that evening, and after images of the alleged abuse were revealed, that Kelly issued a new statement saying he was “shocked by the new allegations," adding “there is no place for domestic violence in our society.”

ABC News reported that senior members of Trump's administration knew for months that there was a personal issues haunting Porter, according to multiple sources — raising questions among staffers about why he was allowed to continue in such a prominent role in the West Wing. Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said Thursday that Kelly did not have “detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged.”

Rumored possible replacements: 

Tom Barrack (reportedly said no), Gary Cohn, Mick Mulvaney, and Mark Meadows.

[GrumpyGran]

56 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

He's so close to getting a second thread here... but he just might fall before the finish line:

Sources: Chief of Staff John Kelly expressed to President Trump willingness to resign

Rumored possible replacements: 

Tom Barrack (reportedly said no), Gary Cohn, Mick Mulvaney, and Mark Meadows.

I guess it all hangs on how it goes on the golf course tomorrow. Kelly better hope Dump's playing with someone who will allow lots of mulligans.

[AnywhereButHere]

What sane person would say yes? They can't get anyone remotely capable to fill their staff positions, because anyone with  a grain of sense is noping so far away from that mess. I think even the less to non qualified candidates are ducking and running.

People are starting to realize that even a short stint in this administration isn't exactly a resume enhancer...

[GrumpyGran]

9 minutes ago, AnywhereButHere said:

What sane person would say yes? They can't get anyone remotely capable to fill their staff positions, because anyone with  a grain of sense is noping so far away from that mess. I think even the less to non qualified candidates are ducking and running.

People are starting to realize that even a short stint in this administration isn't exactly a resume enhancer...

I think Cohn would say no, Mulvaney, hard to say. Meadows would jump at it. I'm rooting for Meadows. He would take the corruption and chaos to a new level which might hurry things along and his district could flip.

[fraurosena]

Sometimes when things are bad, you can't imagine how they could possibly get worse. 

Yep. Kelly's even worse than we thought. 

[GreyhoundFan]

This article is so true. I'm sure the statement would read something like, "General Kelly had a limited role in the WH for a few months and little-to-no contact with the president."

"If Kelly goes, get ready for the White House to downplay his limited-time role"

Spoiler

John F. Kelly has an important-sounding title, White House chief of staff, but he had very limited contact with President Trump before taking the job, which he has held for a very limited time. He was not part of the campaign and only met the president during the transition, when he was named to some Cabinet post. Homeland Security, maybe?

If Kelly exits the White House — The Washington Post reported Friday that he is willing to resign — expect Trump's remaining team to do what it often does to former aides: downplay their significance.

The reasons vary. Sometimes the goal is to discredit an ally-turned-critic. Other times the objective is to distance Trump from someone who appears to have become a liability. Another aim might be to counter the perception (reality) that retaining key staffers has been a challenge.

Whatever the motivation, the message is that someone who leaves Trump's orbit probably was not very important in the first place.

Deputy White House press secretary Raj Shah read from this familiar script Thursday when asked during a media briefing about Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former director of communications at the White House Office of Public Liaison.

“She had limited contact with the president while here,” Shah said.

Translation: Manigault Newman does not know what she's talking about when she says the Trump White House is “not going to be okay,” as she did on “Celebrity Big Brother,” because she was never really involved.

Sean Spicer, when he was the White House press secretary, memorably claimed during one briefing that Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, “played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time.”

Spicer also described former national security adviser Michael Flynn as “a volunteer of the campaign” and dismissed longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone as someone who “worked briefly on the campaign.”

Remember George Papadopoulos, the former foreign policy adviser who pleaded guilty to making a false statement to FBI investigators? White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders hardly does, even though Trump once touted him as an “excellent guy” in an interview with The Post's editorial board.

“I'm telling you that he was a volunteer member of an advisory council that literally met one time,” Sanders told reporters in October.

What about Carter Page, another former foreign policy adviser, whose contacts with Russians were probed by the FBI during the presidential race? Trump campaign communications director Jason Miller told the Hill in September 2016 that Page had “never been a part of our campaign, period.”

“Carter Page is an individual who the president-elect does not know,” Spicer said at a news conference in January 2017.

“I don't think I've ever spoken to him,” Trump added the next month. “I don't think I've ever met him.”

Lately, Trump has decided that Page was part of the team after all, arguing that the FBI's surveillance of Page amounted to inappropriate spying on the Trump campaign.

No one has been erased from Trump history more thoroughly than former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, who, according to the president, “had very little to do with our historic victory.” Bannon was chief executive of Trump's campaign.

“Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue,” Trump said in January.

“His role has been greatly exaggerated,” White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller said of Bannon on CNN last month.

Deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley told CNN in a separate interview that “obviously, over the course of Mr. Bannon's time in the White House, you've seen the results that he produced, which was zero.”

If the Rob Porter episode does spell the end for Kelly, we can guess how the next scene will play out. The president's top aide will be cast as a latecomer whose impact on the White House was overstated.

 

[fraurosena]

It's nice that they're asking this. I don't think they'll be getting an answer though.

Besides, the answer is the same as the one why Jared is reading the daily intelligence briefing instead of the presidunce, even though he hasn't obtained a security clearance either: They simply don't care. 

[GreyhoundFan]

I agree with Jennifer Rubin: "Kelly needs to come clean"

Spoiler

The Post reports:

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Tuesday contradicted the White House’s account of when the bureau informed officials about the status of a senior aide’s security-clearance investigation.

White House officials said that they were first contacted in the summer by the FBI about senior aide Rob Porter’s clearance. They also said that the investigation was never completed and that they did not know the extent of the allegations against Porter. He stepped down last week after accusations of spousal abuse by his two ex-wives.

But Wray, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the FBI submitted a partial report on his clearance in March and that the investigation was completed in July.

In other words, it looks like the cover story the White House has concocted is false.

We, along with most of the media, have observed an unusual degree of incoherence and inconsistency in the White House explanation for Rob Porter’s continued access to confidential material and his eventual termination. Now it appears that for days Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and his subordinates misled the American people, and perhaps the president, in making it appear that Porter still had the potential to be granted a final clearance. This is false, raising the question as to why, knowing that he could not qualify for such a clearance, Porter would be kept on and given continued access (we presume) to top classified material.

If not outright lying, Kelly’s handling of this smacks of sheer incompetence. Was he covering up for his unwise decision to keep around an accused wife abuser? Did Kelly defy the normal security clearance process to protect not only Porter but also Jared Kushner and others who cannot qualify for the necessary clearance? We don’t know, but it is hard to argue that Kelly at this point, particularly if he intentionally misled the country, should be permitted to remain.

In a normal administration, Kelly likely would have been fired by now. In this White House, we don’t know if Trump had approved Porter remaining on and therefore consented to the Kelly cover-up or whether the president was bamboozled along with the rest of the country. If Kelly remains, the former explanation becomes more plausible — and more reprehensible.

At this point, Congress should take the unusual step of requiring Kelly to come testify, whether or not Trump fires him. He needs to answer, behind closed doors if need be:

• How did Porter keep his job without the appropriate clearance?
• Did they understand the security risk (e.g., blackmail) in allowing Porter to remain?
• How many others denied permanent clearance in the White House have closed files but retain access to classified material?
• Did Trump approve these security arrangements?
• Why was Kushner denied clearance? Was it related to his inexplicable failures to disclose Russia-related financial material and meetings?

Hillary Clinton sure has reason to wonder why her home email server was such a to-do while this White House allows, presumably, a slew of characters with questionable backgrounds access to our nation’s secrets. Isn’t it time for Trump to come clean and then justify why his White House plays fast and loose with our nation’s secrets?

 

[GrumpyGran]

13 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I agree with Jennifer Rubin: "Kelly needs to come clean"

  Reveal hidden contents

The Post reports:

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Tuesday contradicted the White House’s account of when the bureau informed officials about the status of a senior aide’s security-clearance investigation.

White House officials said that they were first contacted in the summer by the FBI about senior aide Rob Porter’s clearance. They also said that the investigation was never completed and that they did not know the extent of the allegations against Porter. He stepped down last week after accusations of spousal abuse by his two ex-wives.

But Wray, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the FBI submitted a partial report on his clearance in March and that the investigation was completed in July.

In other words, it looks like the cover story the White House has concocted is false.

We, along with most of the media, have observed an unusual degree of incoherence and inconsistency in the White House explanation for Rob Porter’s continued access to confidential material and his eventual termination. Now it appears that for days Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and his subordinates misled the American people, and perhaps the president, in making it appear that Porter still had the potential to be granted a final clearance. This is false, raising the question as to why, knowing that he could not qualify for such a clearance, Porter would be kept on and given continued access (we presume) to top classified material.

If not outright lying, Kelly’s handling of this smacks of sheer incompetence. Was he covering up for his unwise decision to keep around an accused wife abuser? Did Kelly defy the normal security clearance process to protect not only Porter but also Jared Kushner and others who cannot qualify for the necessary clearance? We don’t know, but it is hard to argue that Kelly at this point, particularly if he intentionally misled the country, should be permitted to remain.

In a normal administration, Kelly likely would have been fired by now. In this White House, we don’t know if Trump had approved Porter remaining on and therefore consented to the Kelly cover-up or whether the president was bamboozled along with the rest of the country. If Kelly remains, the former explanation becomes more plausible — and more reprehensible.

At this point, Congress should take the unusual step of requiring Kelly to come testify, whether or not Trump fires him. He needs to answer, behind closed doors if need be:

• How did Porter keep his job without the appropriate clearance?
• Did they understand the security risk (e.g., blackmail) in allowing Porter to remain?
• How many others denied permanent clearance in the White House have closed files but retain access to classified material?
• Did Trump approve these security arrangements?
• Why was Kushner denied clearance? Was it related to his inexplicable failures to disclose Russia-related financial material and meetings?

Hillary Clinton sure has reason to wonder why her home email server was such a to-do while this White House allows, presumably, a slew of characters with questionable backgrounds access to our nation’s secrets. Isn’t it time for Trump to come clean and then justify why his White House plays fast and loose with our nation’s secrets?

 

I have a hard time believing that this was just incompetence. It may be something as simple as the fact that Porter was close to Dumpy and did an excellent job of sucking up so Dumpy was VERY adverse to letting him go. But think about it. This guy has seen and heard things. These idiots may have thought the info about his really-bad-husband habits would stay hidden and they didn't want to risk having a loose cannon out in the world.

[AmazonGrace]

Anyone had George David Banks in their White House Survivors bingo card? you can strike him off now.   (Sadly I can't, never even heard of him)

He's resigning because he can't get a security clearance because he smoked weed in 2013.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/14/third-white-house-official-resigns-after-being-told-he-wouldnt-qualify-for-full-clearance-409246

[GrumpyGran]

I think Kelly's going to be leaving. Gowdy's on his ass now. His committee has opened up an investigation into this Porter mess and Kelly will have to go under the bus. Bah-bum, bah-bum.

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

Anyone had George David Banks in their White House Survivors bingo card? you can strike him off now.   (Sadly I can't, never even heard of him)

He's resigning because he can't get a security clearance because he smoked weed in 2013.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/14/third-white-house-official-resigns-after-being-told-he-wouldnt-qualify-for-full-clearance-409246

Okay so toking some Mary Jane: Bad.  Beating your wife or being a racist, white hood wearing, thug: Just dandy.  

[GreyhoundFan]

"Kelly makes changes to White House security clearance process after abuse allegations against top aide"

Spoiler

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, under pressure over his handling of allegations of domestic abuse against a top aide, has approved an overhaul of how the White House manages security-clearance investigations, acknowledging missteps but putting the onus on the FBI and the Justice Department to now hand-deliver updates and provide more information.

The five-page document, signed by Kelly on Friday, was obtained by The Washington Post.

Kelly worked closely with White House Counsel Donald McGahn in discussing and outlining the changes, according to officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly. McGahn has also been criticized for his response to former White House aide Rob Porter’s clearance. Porter, who resigned last week, remained as staff secretary, with access to highly classified material, months after the claims of emotional and physical abuse by his two ex-wives were reported to the FBI.

Kelly begins the memo by stating that in the wake of the Porter scandal, “We should — and in the future, must — do better” and concedes that problems in the security-clearance process demanded attention.

Later, Kelly writes, “But recent events have exposed some remaining shortcomings,” beyond the changes Kelly implemented since taking over as chief of staff last year. “Now is the time to take a hard look at the way the White House processes clearance requests.”

The document, titled “Improvements to the clearance process,” is addressed to McGahn and national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray are copied.

The memo says the FBI and Justice Department have offered their cooperation with Kelly’s requests in recent days, and that “going forward, all of potential Commissioned Officers should be flagged for the FBI at the outset and then hand-delivered to the White House Counsel personally upon completion. The FBI official who delivers these files should verbally brief the White House Counsel on any information in those files they deem to be significantly derogatory.”

The White House has struggled over the past week to explain how the security clearance process worked in Porter’s case and when top officials were informed about the allegations against him, offering shifting explanations of what occurred.

There also have been recent reports of dozens of White House aides working under interim clearances, raising further questions about the Trump administration’s handling of the issue and whether it is jeopardizing classified information.

“Effective one week today, discontinue any Top Secret or SCI-level interim clearances for individuals whose investigations or adjudications have been pending since June 1, 2017 or before,” the memo states as one of the White House’s new guidelines.

The time frame laid out in the memo between derogatory information being found in a background check and it being reported to the White House is 48 hours. Kelly writes he is still not sure whether this is achievable.

White House officials said this was one key area of the document that reflects their frustration with the FBI and Justice Department as they deflect blame in the Porter fallout.

The Trump administration has said Porter’s security-clearance investigation remained open because the White House Personnel Security Office, which approves clearances, had not finished its work. Administration officials also have suggested results of that investigation were closely held within the office.

But people who worked on both sides of such investigations in past administrations said in interviews this week that the White House’s portrayal of the role played by the security office is inconsistent with how it previously operated. For instance, they said if the security office became aware of something in an aide’s background check that could jeopardize their security clearance, it would likely inform the White House Counsel’s Office.

Wray this week also pushed back against the idea that his agency did anything improper in its handling of Porter’s clearance.

“I am quite confident that in this instance, the FBI followed established” protocols, Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday.

Kelly puts an emphasis in the memo on how it is not the White House’s sole responsibility to adapt and move faster to learn about the FBI’s conclusions on background investigations, despite Wray’s statement.

He says the White House will now require “estimated return dates to create bench marks and set expectations on timing,” although he does not cite details for how that would work.

Kelly, who prizes his reputation for order, veers throughout the document from talking up his efforts to bring stability to the White House while also stating that reforms must be implemented, reflecting his desire to stay on as President Trump’s top aide rather than step away following Porter’s resignation.

The chief of staff states that a “number of reforms have already been implemented,” but does not offer a timeline of when some of these changes have been made, such as requiring all security clearances to be approved by his office and having the Personnel Security Office make a “suitability determination before being on-boarded and granted access to the White House complex.”

Kelly goes on to say that office, referred to as “PSO,” needs major changes to reduce redundancies and bottlenecks.

Does this mean Jared will be out of a job? Oh Rufus, please!

[GrumpyGran]

17 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"Kelly makes changes to White House security clearance process after abuse allegations against top aide"

  Reveal hidden contents

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, under pressure over his handling of allegations of domestic abuse against a top aide, has approved an overhaul of how the White House manages security-clearance investigations, acknowledging missteps but putting the onus on the FBI and the Justice Department to now hand-deliver updates and provide more information.

The five-page document, signed by Kelly on Friday, was obtained by The Washington Post.

Kelly worked closely with White House Counsel Donald McGahn in discussing and outlining the changes, according to officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly. McGahn has also been criticized for his response to former White House aide Rob Porter’s clearance. Porter, who resigned last week, remained as staff secretary, with access to highly classified material, months after the claims of emotional and physical abuse by his two ex-wives were reported to the FBI.

Kelly begins the memo by stating that in the wake of the Porter scandal, “We should — and in the future, must — do better” and concedes that problems in the security-clearance process demanded attention.

Later, Kelly writes, “But recent events have exposed some remaining shortcomings,” beyond the changes Kelly implemented since taking over as chief of staff last year. “Now is the time to take a hard look at the way the White House processes clearance requests.”

The document, titled “Improvements to the clearance process,” is addressed to McGahn and national security adviser H.R. McMaster. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray are copied.

The memo says the FBI and Justice Department have offered their cooperation with Kelly’s requests in recent days, and that “going forward, all of potential Commissioned Officers should be flagged for the FBI at the outset and then hand-delivered to the White House Counsel personally upon completion. The FBI official who delivers these files should verbally brief the White House Counsel on any information in those files they deem to be significantly derogatory.”

The White House has struggled over the past week to explain how the security clearance process worked in Porter’s case and when top officials were informed about the allegations against him, offering shifting explanations of what occurred.

There also have been recent reports of dozens of White House aides working under interim clearances, raising further questions about the Trump administration’s handling of the issue and whether it is jeopardizing classified information.

“Effective one week today, discontinue any Top Secret or SCI-level interim clearances for individuals whose investigations or adjudications have been pending since June 1, 2017 or before,” the memo states as one of the White House’s new guidelines.

The time frame laid out in the memo between derogatory information being found in a background check and it being reported to the White House is 48 hours. Kelly writes he is still not sure whether this is achievable.

White House officials said this was one key area of the document that reflects their frustration with the FBI and Justice Department as they deflect blame in the Porter fallout.

The Trump administration has said Porter’s security-clearance investigation remained open because the White House Personnel Security Office, which approves clearances, had not finished its work. Administration officials also have suggested results of that investigation were closely held within the office.

But people who worked on both sides of such investigations in past administrations said in interviews this week that the White House’s portrayal of the role played by the security office is inconsistent with how it previously operated. For instance, they said if the security office became aware of something in an aide’s background check that could jeopardize their security clearance, it would likely inform the White House Counsel’s Office.

Wray this week also pushed back against the idea that his agency did anything improper in its handling of Porter’s clearance.

“I am quite confident that in this instance, the FBI followed established” protocols, Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday.

Kelly puts an emphasis in the memo on how it is not the White House’s sole responsibility to adapt and move faster to learn about the FBI’s conclusions on background investigations, despite Wray’s statement.

He says the White House will now require “estimated return dates to create bench marks and set expectations on timing,” although he does not cite details for how that would work.

Kelly, who prizes his reputation for order, veers throughout the document from talking up his efforts to bring stability to the White House while also stating that reforms must be implemented, reflecting his desire to stay on as President Trump’s top aide rather than step away following Porter’s resignation.

The chief of staff states that a “number of reforms have already been implemented,” but does not offer a timeline of when some of these changes have been made, such as requiring all security clearances to be approved by his office and having the Personnel Security Office make a “suitability determination before being on-boarded and granted access to the White House complex.”

Kelly goes on to say that office, referred to as “PSO,” needs major changes to reduce redundancies and bottlenecks.

Does this mean Jared will be out of a job? Oh Rufus, please!

Yeah, what will happen to Jared? Why do I think that the brain trust of Miller, Kelly and little Hopeless are conjuring up an 'excluded from the rules' designation that will somehow be enacted by an executive order?