Trump transition team finally agrees to FBI background checks for nominees

Donald Trump has used a private company to perform background checks on some of his appointees to serve in his Cabinet and refused to sign an agreement that he would let the FBI do the checks.

That ended Tuesday when Trump's transition team finally signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice, agreeing to allow the FBI to conduct background checks, reported legal analyst Aaron Parnas on Bluesky.

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Background checks look into not only the history of a possible staffer or nominee but also investigate whether any foreign government could manipulate an appointee with blackmail.

NBC News reported in 2019 that top Trump adviser Jared Kushner didn't pass his FBI background check twice over questions about his businesses and foreign contacts.

"Kushner's was one of at least 30 cases in which [former Pentagon official Carl] Kline overruled career security experts and approved a top-secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable information," two sources told NBC at the time.