WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, will decide if Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, keeps a security clearance that gives him access to highly classified government secrets.
"General Kelly will make that call," Trump told reporters on Friday during a news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. "I won't make that call."
Kelly had set Friday as a deadline, after which White House aides still without an interim security clearance would require a waiver to continue to see classified information and attend classified meetings. Losing clearance would likely greatly inhibit Kushner's work, given his portfolio as a senior adviser on policy toward China, Mexico and the Middle East, among other topics.
The deadline was forced recently after a scandal over a senior White House official accused by two former wives of abuse; he has since left. Subsequently, dozens of senior officials _ including Kushner _ were acknowledged to be working with interim clearances as the FBI completes background checks, delayed by undisclosed problems in some cases.
On Friday Trump said the clearance process is "broken" and that his son-in-law has "been treated very unfairly." He heaped praised on Kushner, calling him a "high-quality person" and "an extraordinary dealmaker" working on Middle East peace.
"General Kelly respects Jared a lot," Trump said, adding, "I have no doubt he'll do the right thing."
