WASHINGTON -- Jared Kushner, senior adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump, had his security clearance downgraded Friday, sharply limiting his access to some of the nation's most sensitive secrets amid concerns raised by the ongoing investigation into his background, White House officials said Tuesday.
Kushner was one of several White House officials who received a memo Friday announcing that because of their interim security clearances, their statuses were being downgraded from "Top Secret/SCI" level to "Secret" level, a far lower level of access to classified information.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had set Friday as the deadline for all staff members operating under interim clearances to have their temporary clearances revoked. He set the deadline after he came under criticism involving his handling of domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter, who had been working under an interim security clearance.
But there is uncertainty over whether Kushner will receive a special exception.
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Politico first reported the news of Friday's memo.
The issue of Kushner's clearance has led to a continuing clash with Kelly. Kushner has pressed to keep his top-level access to some of the United States' most sensitive classified material. That access has allowed him to view the presidential daily brief, the summary of intelligence that is given to the president every day.
With that access, Kushner has served as a high-level envoy to leaders around the world, including the leaders of Saudi Arabia, and is the top White House adviser in charge of negotiating peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He has also focused on trade issues with Mexico and China.
Earlier this month, a top Justice Department official alerted the White House that significant information requiring additional investigation would further delay Kushner's security clearance process, The Washington Post reported last week.
Kushner's inability to obtain a final clearance has frustrated and vexed the White House for months. As someone who meets regularly with foreign officials and reads classified intelligence, he would typically have a fast-tracked background investigation, security clearance experts said.
In Washington, national security veterans said the loss of high-level clearance will be a hindrance when it comes to Kushner's foreign policy role, particularly his ability to understand what the other players are thinking, including the Saudis, Iranians and others who are influential in the region.
"It makes an already difficult situation all the more difficult," said Aaron David Miller, a former longtime State Department peace negotiator and now a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
A secret document could be a diplomatic cable from a U.S. Embassy to the State Department, discussing the internal politics of that country. The top secret/SCI category, by contrast, includes details of U.S. programs such as drone targeting in Pakistan or covert operations conducted by Special Forces. It also may include high-level private discussions between senior government leaders.
Last week, Kelly refused to comment on Kushner's personal status but did offer a general statement in support of him.
"As I told Jared days ago, I have full confidence in his ability to continue performing his duties in his foreign policy portfolio including overseeing our Israeli-Palestinian peace effort and serving as an integral part of our relationship with Mexico," Kelly said in a statement at the time. "Everyone in the White House is grateful for these valuable contributions to furthering the President's agenda. There is no truth to any suggestion otherwise."
But Kushner's access immediately appeared threatened when Kelly issued the new policy earlier this month blocking staff members with interim clearances from receiving top-secret information.
The move put a "bull's-eye" on Kushner, a senior official told the Post.
Kelly had told associates that he was uncomfortable with Kushner's uncertain security clearance status and unique role as both a family member and staff member, according to people familiar with the conversations.
On Friday, Trump said he would defer the question of Kushner's access to his chief of staff.
"I will let Gen. Kelly make that decision, and he's going to do what's right for the country," the president said at a news conference. "And I have no doubt that he will make the right decision."
Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said Tuesday that he wants answers from the White House and the FBI about the top officials who still lack full security clearances.
In a joint letter with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Grassley asked White House Counsel Don McGahn and FBI Director Christopher Wray for details by Thursday on the number of people given interim clearances and what procedures govern people with interim clearances, including whether they have access to the president's daily brief.
"Recent reports reveal that officials at the highest levels of government may be operating with only interim security clearances, either because of delays in the clearance-granting process or because information revealed during that process is not acted on in a timely and appropriate fashion," they wrote. "If true, this raises significant concerns that ineligible individuals, who hold positions of public trust, may have access to sensitive or classified information."
Separately Tuesday, the Post reported that officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Kushner by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.
Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.
It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner's contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.
H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report. The issue of foreign officials talking about their meetings with Kushner and their perception of his vulnerabilities was a subject raised in McMaster's daily intelligence briefings, according to the current and former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Within the White House, Kushner's lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him, the current and former officials said.
"We will not respond substantively to unnamed sources peddling secondhand hearsay with rank speculation that continue to leak inaccurate information," said Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner's lawyer.
Information for this article was contributed by Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey, Devlin Barrett, Shane Harris, Carol D. Leonnig, Greg Jaffe and Michael Kranish of The Washington Post; by Justin Sink, Jennifer Jacobs, Shannon Pettypiece, Toluse Olorunnipa and Steven T. Dennis of Bloomberg News; and by Michael D. Shear and Katie Rogers of The New York Times.
A Section on 02/28/2018