I’m sorry, but this story stinks….and I don’t mean to imply
that it is not true….it IS after all from America’s leading bullshit in print.
Let’s start with the meat of the story, or what should be
the meat of the story; that President Trump ordered the White House Personnel
Security Office to issue 25 security clearances to people that might not have
measured up….that had possible disqualifying information, such as drug use,
financial problems and criminal misconduct.
And you know what? I BELIEVE
that…..because I know that it happened under Obama AND Clinton. If drug use was a possible disqualifier (and
it is), neither Obama, or Clinton, or about 10 of the 20 dems vying for their
party’s nomination for 2020, would have a security clearance. Financial problems (if you include graft)
would have eliminated a room full of Clinton and Obama staffers, and likely
some Bush staffers. Combined, about 90%
of congress wouldn’t have a clearance.
So I am not saying that this didn’t happen, it probably did.
But if you read the story all the way through, you realize
pretty quickly that there is something more at play than this security clearance
issue. “Ms. Newbold, who has a rare form
of dwarfism, also accused Mr. Kline, the former director of personnel security,
of retaliating against her when she repeatedly pointed out to him that actions
he was taking, including overriding recommendations to issue clearances to two
senior officials, were violating protocol. Ms. Newbold said that Mr. Kline
oversaw a workplace where files — including extensive and sensitive background
check documents — were not secured properly, and stopped the performing of
credit checks for potential employees. She told the House committee that she
had “never seen our office so ill-staffed and with such lack of experience.”
Got it….she is upset….but why do we need to know that she
has a rare form of dwarfism? Is it because
that identification puts her in a
favored class, and supports her claims of discrimination, which most of us
would think of as carelessness if we thought of it at all?
There is something wrong with this story…..and not the
least of it is because it is in the NYT…….I sense an axe being ground…..just
cannot figure out which one.
The real point has nothing to do with any of that distraction. The real point is that all White Houses override some disqualifiers, as is noted up top. Deadbeat dads, failure to pay traffic tickets, unresolved disputes with credit card companies, IRS issues -- not the ones that make headlines, smoking pot, prescriptions for anti-depressants, etc. all get you flagged. Some of these people may have more serious, disqualifying issues, like, say, dealing drugs (common in the Clinton White House), and actual run ins with law enforcement, (also common in the Clinton WH), which need to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Presidents routinely override these matters when they want a staffer to remain.
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