White House clearances an inside job

A POLITICAL appointee who reports to the White House chief of staff runs the office in charge of issuing security clearances, despite officials painting it as an independent bastion of bureaucrats.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders laid the blame for former staff secretary Rob Porter maintaining an interim security clearance for nearly a year despite domestic violence allegations on the little-known personnel security office.

She described the personnel security office as being “staffed by career officials” on Tuesday, but the obscure office is overseen by a personal pick of President Trump.

The office makes recommendations for security clearance suitability, but the ultimate decision is up to senior administration officials, according to experts.

“It’s really akin to how a company has an office in charge of their own security, in charge of clearance, badging, they are the administrator of it,” Evan Lesser, the founder and president of ClearanceJobs.com, told the Daily News.

Little is known about the office as the White House website makes little information available and officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump tagged Marcia Lee Kelly, who oversaw the 2016 Republican National Convention, to serve as director of the White House Office of Management and Administration.

The FBI conducts background checks for White House staff, but a final determination is made by the White House. The President has the final say.

The office “does not do vetting nor make decisions — they convey suggestions from the FBI,” Lesser said.

“The White House security office may communicate with a higherup in the White House,” Lesser said. “They’re like the middle man — they keep the records on everybody and hand out the forms.”

A source familiar with the office told The Washington Post he was skeptical about White House claims that the office was still reviewing Porter’s file.

“There’s no way that the personnel security office at the White House, which is very small, would be sitting around for three or four months mulling over whether to give this guy clearance,” the source said.