MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: White House Security Clearances
Interview
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HAYES: Joining me now is Congressman Ted Lieu, Democrat from California, Member of the House Judiciary Committee. First, you`re reaction to the reporting from the Washington Post that foreign governments had identified Kushner as manipulatable due to his complex financial arrangements.
REP. TED LIEU (D-CA), HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Thank you for your question, Chris. If the Washington Post story is accurate, Jared Kushner needs to resign. His mounting business debts, his complex financial arrangements and the lies he`s told on his previous SF-86 security clearance forms make him a national security liability. We cannot have a Senior White House Adviser that can be manipulated and leveraged by foreign powers that`s completely unacceptable.
HAYES: What do you think of him losing his clearance today 14 months after he started?
LIEU: It is a good first step but also means he can no longer do his job. The President has charged him with getting a middle peace -- Middle East peace plan between Israel and Palestinians. He can`t do that if he doesn`t have access to the highest levels of intelligence about what these positions are of these various entities involved. And the Israelis and Palestinians won`t be able to trust Jared Kushner if they know that our own government can`t trust him fully.
HAYES: Trey Gowdy in the House Government Oversight Committee has initiated what he says an investigation into the clearance issue of 100 White House staffers working on temporary security clearance a year after the election, as far as we can tell which is just remarkable. Do you want to see Congressional Oversight specifically and hearings about Jared Kushner and how this process worked?
LIEU: Absolutely. I have already introduced a bill called a Clearances Act that would require the White House to provide to Congress everyone on interim security clearance and if it`s over a year to explain why it`s been over a year. And this is one of the examples of why we have nepotism laws and why we don`t want nepotism. You can`t have the President sticking people into the White House because of blood and not because of qualifications.
HAYES: Are you concerned about that there are national security vulnerabilities that may have already been exploited?
LIEU: Absolutely. And you know, I`ve been asking for a long time, why does Jared Kushner still have a security clearance. Now I get to ask why does he have a downgraded clearance? But there`s other people there such as Ivanka, why should she have a security clearance? She has no qualifications to be a senior White House adviser. She has no foreign policy experience. Why was she communicating with the President of South Korea on some important North Korean issues? I have into understanding to why that is happening other than because of nepotism.
HAYES: You know, one thing that jumped out of me is the idea that Kushner, I mean, this is someone who has had to refile parts of his SF-86, he`s had to disclose meetings that were previously undisclosed. He didn`t talk about the meeting with Kislyak originally, the meeting with Russian banker, that he is still making appointments or meetings with foreign officials and not running it through NSE after being warned about this. How do you understand that behavior?
LIEU: According to The Washington Post, some of these foreign countries are specifically trying to talk to Kushner without going through other channels because they know that Kushner can be manipulated. I also wrote a letter that over a dozen members of Congress signed over two months ago that asked Jared Kushner a very simple question. It was just a yes or no question. Did he have any talks with foreign nationals from countries such as China or UAE? He still refuses to answer that very simple question. And now we probably know why that is.
HAYES: Wait, you wrote him a letter two months ago and they did not -- they just didn`t answer?
LIEU: We also wrote a follow-up letter. They refused to answer a simple yes or no. Has he talked to anyone about 666 Fifth Avenue, with these foreign nationals from Saudi Arabia, China, and other countries?
HAYES: 666 Fifth Avenue, of course, is the Kushner family businesses crown jewel enterprise which is massively leverage for which they need cash infusions. It`s been identified as a possible sort of leverage point for those who should manipulate Kushner. I want to be clear here. You wrote the letter, did they ignore it or did they acknowledge receipt and tell you they`re not answering?
LIEU: They have acknowledged receipt. They definitely have the first letter plus the follow-up letter. They just won`t answer that question. And that leads me to believe that Jared Kushner is hiding something, that he likely did have conversations with foreign nationals about 666 Fifth Avenue.
HAYES: Yes, that seems like a question you should get an answer to. Congressman Ted Lieu, thanks for joining us.
LIEU: Thank you.
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