Congressman Krishnamoorthi Authors Letter To FBI Leadership Requesting It Inform Congress Of National Security Vulnerabilities Created By Jared Kushner’s Failure To Disclose Russian Contacts

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the House Oversight Committee called upon acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe to inform Congress of the counterintelligence and national security vulnerabilities created by White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner's reported failure to disclose more than 100 foreign contacts on his security clearance application. These undisclosed interactions included meeting with representatives of the Kremlin and a lawyer purported to be a Russian government agent illicitly offering the Trump campaign information on behalf of the Putin regime.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi released the following statement on his letter to acting FBI Director McCabe:

"Today I wrote to the FBI's leadership to request they inform Congress as to the counterintelligence and national security vulnerabilities created by Mr. Kushner's repeated failure to disclose his meetings with representatives of the Kremlin and entities closely aligned with it. A full and accurate application for a security clearance is essential for identifying an applicant's vulnerabilities to bribery, extortion, and blackmail. Additionally, the failure to accurately complete a security clearance application, the SF-86 form, can itself leave an individual compromised to foreign influence, as former acting Attorney General Sally Yates noted about General Michael Flynn's similar omissions.

In light of these serious concerns, I hope the FBI will provide Congress with the relevant information as to both the ongoing risks associated with a high-ranking official failing to disclose foreign contacts as well as the reasons for such an official repeatedly failing to do so yet still keeping his security clearance. Lastly, I've asked the Bureau to make recommendations to improve the process of obtaining a security clearance to prevent these issues and vulnerabilities."

Congressman Krishnamoorthi's signed letter is available here

The text of Congressman Krishnamoorthis's letter follows:

June 13, 2017

The Honorable Andrew McCabe

Acting Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20535

Dear Acting Director McCabe,

One of the most important tasks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is counterintelligence: determining who is trying to recruit Americans, who is at risk of recruitment, and who has betrayed their country? The best tool to counter attempts to compromise or recruit assets is very simple: the truth. An honest person is not susceptible to bribery, extortion, or blackmail. Conversely, those with something to hide make ripe targets for foreign intelligence agencies.

On July 11, the New York Times reported that current Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner participated in a meeting with a Russian lawyer who was purported to represent the Kremlin. When he filed his SF-86 form on January 18, Mr. Kushner reportedly failed to disclose this meeting. This meeting came to light when Mr. Kushner's legal team discovered it during an attempt to amend the clearance forms.

Since receiving his Top Secret clearance on January 20, Mr. Kushner has had full access to the secrets of our national security apparatus. This includes the identities of American assets in foreign countries, diplomatic strategy, and other matters of supreme importance to both the United States and our global allies.

In your capacity as head of America's counterintelligence agents, what are the risks associated with having a person in a place of public trust who failed to disclose foreign contacts? What are some of the possible reasons for failing, on more than one occasion, to disclose contacts on an SF-86 form? Perhaps most importantly, what changes should be made to the process of obtaining a security clearance to prevent such an occurrence from happening again?

I respect that you cannot speak to any ongoing investigation, but Congress must understand how someone could gain a security clearance with repeated omissions on his paperwork.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Raja Krishnamoorthi

Member of Congress