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Trump Demands WH to Grant Kushner Top Security Clearance Amid US Intel Concerns

© AP Photo / Mary AltafferRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by his daughter Tiffany, left, and son-in-law Jared Kushner as he speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester, June 7, 2016, in Briarcliff Manor, NY.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by his daughter Tiffany, left, and son-in-law Jared Kushner as he speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester,  June 7, 2016, in Briarcliff Manor, NY. - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump ordered senior White House officials to upgrade his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner top-secret security clearance despite concerns of the intelligence community, media reported.

Trump ordered his chief of staff at the time John Kelly to grant Kushner security clearance despite warnings from intelligence officials and White House lawyers, the New York Times reported on Thursday. In an interview with New York Times in January, Trump denied any involvement in helping secure the top-level clearance for Kushner.

Last year, Kushner's interim security clearance was reportedly downgraded from Top Secret/SCI-level to the Secret level.

READ MORE: Democrats Urge WH Chief of Staff to Revoke Jared Kushner's Security Clearance

According to NBC News, two White House security specialists rejected last month Kushner's application for a top-secret clearance after a FBI background check raised concerns about potential foreign influence on him, but they were overruled by their supervisor, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Jared Kushner, is pictured before being decorated with the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle by Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018 - Sputnik International
Kushner Trumped Top Secret Clearance Process After Two Rejections – Report
NBC News also reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Kushner's FBI background check identified questions about his family's business, his foreign contacts, his foreign travel and meetings he had during the campaign.

According to the broadcaster's sources, Kushner sought to obtain the highest security clearance level to access the so-called sensitive compartmented information (SCI), which is the most classified type of data in the United States, but needed to get a lower, top secret clearance first. While the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) must be the one to grant SCI access, the White House could also issue a top secrecy clearance.

READ MORE: Trump Considering Kushner for Next White House Chief of Staff — Reports

Meanwhile, the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders has told the reporters that the administration does not comment on security clearances.

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