RUSSIA/РОССИЯ THREAD—ASSANGE CHRGD W/ SPYING—DJT IMPEACHED TWICE-US TREASURY SANCTS KILIMNIK AS RUSSIAN AGNT
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'Whistleblower' seeks protection after sounding alarm over White House security clearances
Tricia Newbold says her supervisor "repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances."
Feb. 13, 2019, 2:36 PM EST
A White House security specialist is seeking official whistleblower protection from the federal government after raising concerns about “unwarranted security clearances" for administration officials, including Jared Kushner, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The specialist, Tricia Newbold, filed the whistleblower complaint less than two weeks after she was suspended without pay for defying her supervisor, Carl Kline.
The complaint, which was obtained by NBC News, alleges Newbold raised concerns with Kline about a security clearance for an individual as early as July 2017. The complaint does not identify the person, but sources familiar with the situation told NBC News that it was Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser.
In the complaint, Newbold says Kline "repeatedly mishandled security files and has approved unwarranted security clearances."
The complaint says that on July 18, 2017, Newbold emailed Kline about “potential derogatory information” related to the individual that could impact his security clearance. At the time, Kushner had interim security clearance and his FBI investigation was ongoing, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Tricia Newbold has filed an EEOC complaint against Carl Kline, alleging he discriminated against her because of her height.
Newbold’s complaint explains that standard procedure would be to call in the employee and discuss the negative information, which in this case had already been deemed to be “credible." Newbold’s complaint alleges that Kline refused to do so and instead suggested he “was going to wait until the [FBI] investigation was completed.”
Newbold says in the complaint that she “questioned why we were treating this individual any differently than we would any other individual.” The complaint claims Kline then shut down the discussion saying, “he would not address this matter further.”
Newbold’s complaint says she raised concerns with Kline again on the same individual, identified by sources as Kushner, on Aug. 21, 2017. The complaint states that Kline “advised I should ‘watch myself.’"
Months later, Kline approved top-secret clearance for Kushner, overruling the determination by Newbold and one other career White House security specialist, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The career staffers rejected Kushner’s top-secret application because of concerns about his foreign contacts that were detailed in his FBI background investigation, according to the two sources.
Kushner's was one of at least 30 cases in which Kline overruled career security experts and approved a top-secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable information, according to the two sources.
Such cases are typically rare, the sources said. A decision to overrule the recommendations of career experts was made only once in the last three years before Kline was hired, according to the sources.
The complaint — filed with the federal government’s official whistleblower office, which is called the U.S. Office of Special Counsel — is not connected to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian election interference and possible ties to the Trump campaign. The OSC, as it is commonly known, is a permanent independent entity that investigates retaliation against federal whistleblowers.
Newbold is claiming that she has been retaliated against for raising concerns about her supervisor’s “reckless security judgments." In April 2018, she filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint alleging that he discriminated against her because of her height. Newbold has a rare form of dwarfism.
In her equal opportunity complaint, Newbold indicated that Kline had moved files out of her reach telling her that she could ask her staff to get files for her if she needed them. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed the files were moved out of Newbold’s reach.
Kline did not respond to phone calls and texts requesting comment except for one text after NBC News reported that he was the subject of an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint. "I don't care," read the message.
After raising the discrimination concerns, Newbold was suspended from her job for two weeks without pay. That suspension will end on Thursday. The chief security officer for the Executive Office of the President, Crede Bailey, denied that the suspension had anything to do with the discrimination complaint and instead said it was based on a failure to supervise, failure to follow instructions and defiance of authority, according to the suspension decision notice reviewed by NBC News.
The suspension document also notes that Newbold has not faced any “prior formal disciplinary action” in her 18-year career with the federal government.
Asked about Newbold's suspension, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders previously told NBC News, “We don’t comment on personnel issues."
The whistleblower complaint indicates Newbold reported her concerns to the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in early December. Investigators on the committee are actively investigating how Kushner received his top-secret clearance.
Laura Strickler is an investigative producer in the NBC News Investigative Unit based in Washington.
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Paul going down for life.
Judge voids Paul Manafort plea deal, says he 'intentionally' lied to the FBI, special counsel and grand jury — CNN Politics
Paul going down for life.
Judge voids Paul Manafort plea deal, says he 'intentionally' lied to the FBI, special counsel and grand jury — CNN Politics
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Michael Flynn's business partner to go on trial in July
Marshall Cohen
Alexandria, Virginia (CNN) — Retired Gen. Michael Flynn's business partner will go on trial in July for unregistered lobbying, moving Flynn one step closer to putting his legal troubles behind him.
Flynn and his business partner, Bijan Kian, lobbied on behalf of the Turkish government. Kian pleaded not guilty in December to conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
The beginning -- and conclusion -- of Kian's trial will have an impact on Flynn, who pleaded guilty in a separate case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller and has been cooperating with investigators ever since.
Both men are tied to President Donald Trump: Flynn was Trump's first national security adviser, and Kian advised the Trump transition on intelligence matters.
Flynn was set to be sentenced in December for lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts. But in a bid to reduce his punishment, his lawyers abruptly asked for a delay during an emotional hearing so Flynn could continue cooperating with investigators.
Flynn has helped federal prosecutors build their case against Kian and appears likely to testify at the trial.
During a procedural hearing Wednesday in the Kian case, prosecutors said they'll need one week for the upcoming trial. If the current schedule holds, Kian's case could be wrapped up by the end of the summer, clearing the way for Flynn to be sentenced. Flynn wants to avoid jail time but that is ultimately up to the judge, who previously gave a blistering rebuke of Flynn's conduct.
Kian was accused of hiding his pro-Turkey lobbying from the US government. The indictment said he tried to convince US lawmakers to support the extradition of an exiled Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania. This is a top priority for the autocratic government in Ankara, because Turkey's President blames the cleric for the 2016 coup that threatened his grip on power.
Others in Trump's orbit have been ensnared by similar laws requiring foreign agents to disclose their work, including Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy Rick Gates. In court filings, Flynn acknowledged committing some of the same lobbying-related crimes that Kian was accused of, but he cut a cooperation deal and avoided prosecution.
As a result of that cooperation, Flynn was not indicted in the Kian case, And Flynn wasn't mentioned by name in Kian's indictment, though he was repeatedly referred to as "Person A." His now-defunct lobbying firm, the Flynn Intel Group, was called "Company A." Flynn and Kian co-founded the group, which Flynn formed after leaving the Obama administration in 2014.
Kian's lawyers asked the judge to force prosecutors to identify the co-conspirators in the case, one of whom is clearly Flynn, based on court records and statements from Flynn's lawyers.
The judge ruled that prosecutors must tell Kian's lawyers the identities of any co-conspirators "whose statements may be used at trial." But that could still take place in sealed filings unavailable to the public. Flynn's name was not uttered in court on Wednesday.