Members of the Trump White House knowingly chose not to address Rob Porter's security clearance because it would have reflected badly on President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has also failed to pass an FBI background check, according to a report on Wednesday.
A White House source told CNN that many in the White House knew that Porter had not received his security clearance. Porter was eventually forced to resign after two of his ex-wives came forward with domestic abuse allegations.
"One White House official said that, although unspoken, it was clear that other staffers were worried about raising questions about Porter's clearance issues because they were concerned it would resurrect scrutiny surrounding Kushner's own issues," CNN reported.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has issued a memo last week saying that employees with interim security clearances would no longer be permitted to receive top secret information.
While Kushner is said to fall in this category, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that Kushner's work to solve the Mideast peace crisis and other projects would not be impacted by the change, suggesting that Trump may make an exception for his son-in-law.