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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / No Credit Check! Buy Here! Pay Here!

No Credit Check! Buy Here! Pay Here!

by Betty Cracker|  April 1, 201911:26 am| 54 Comments

This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Open Threads, Politics, Republican Stupidity, Assholes, General Stupidity

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Breaking from The Post:

White House whistleblower says 25 security clearance denials were reversed during Trump administration

A White House whistleblower told lawmakers that more than two dozen denials for security clearances have been overturned during the Trump administration, calling Congress her “last hope” for addressing what she considers improper conduct that has left the nation’s secrets exposed.

Tricia Newbold, a longtime White House security adviser, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that she and her colleagues issued “dozens” of denials for security clearance applications that were later approved despite their concerns about blackmail, foreign influence or other red flags, according to panel documents released Monday.

Newbold, an 18-year veteran of the security clearance process who has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, said she warned her superiors that clearances “were not always adjudicated in the best interest of national security” — and was retaliated against for doing so.

Unsurprisingly, the committee is investigating security clearances issued for low-quality nepotism hires Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. John Bolton is also on the list. I’m not sure why — thought he was Bush the Lesser’s UN ambassador, who would presumably need clearance for that job, but maybe not?

Anyhoo, aside from green-lighting deeply indebted dilettantes who then went on to make moves that look suspiciously like shaping US foreign policy for personal gain, the Trump administration has also lowered standards all around, because that’s what they do, every day and in every scenario:

Newbold also raised concerns about new White House security clearance policies that she says put the nation at risk. For example, the White House security office no longer checks the credits of applicants, which she said keeps reviewers from knowing whether applicants could be susceptible to blackmail because of their debts.

The lady who makes you put your shoes in a plastic bucket at the airport? She had to have a credit check to get that job. Ditto the dude in the toll booth on the turnpike. It’s almost like these Trump assholes aren’t serious about national security.

Open thread.

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Reader Interactions

54Comments

  1. 1.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 11:31 am

    I know we always say..

    What if this was 44?
    But, you can’t remotely imagine that Barack Obama would jeopardize the National Security of the United States by putting into place people WHO CAN’T PASS THE SECURITY CLEARANCE.

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 11:32 am

    Tomorrow, we will make history in Chicago.
    I was a child when Harold won.
    Didn’t really think it would take this long to get another Black Mayor.

  3. 3.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 1, 2019 at 11:36 am

    Daily Kos (or the Great Orange Satan if you prefer) has sent out a nice detailed policy questionnaire for the 2020 candidates. I look forward to reading their responses. It’ll provide us with something worthwhile to murder each other over in the comments here, at the very least. https://m.dailykos.com/stories/2019/3/31/1846240/-The-2020-presidential-election-must-be-about-issues-Daily-Kos-asks-the-Democratic-field-to-go-there

  4. 4.

    JGabriel

    April 1, 2019 at 11:38 am

    Betty Cracker @ Top:

    John Bolton is also on the list. I’m not sure why — thought he was Bush the Lesser’s UN ambassador, who would presumably need clearance for that job, but maybe not?

    I suspect the behavior that makes Bolton a security risk probably occurred after his UN stint – or, even more likely, during it.

  5. 5.

    matt

    April 1, 2019 at 11:39 am

    Since Kushner and Ivanka are selling us out by design, my guess is that the other shitbirds are there to provide a cloud of distractions to make investigation difficult.

  6. 6.

    Immanentize

    April 1, 2019 at 11:43 am

    @rikyrah: Black WOMAN Mayor, you mean….

  7. 7.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 11:43 am

    Aunty Maxine says don’t come for her, she’s got the gavel and she’s not afraid to use it! Watch the #ImageAwards50 honoree bring the audience to their feet with her powerful speech. Catch the Encore on NOW or again this afternoon at 2/1c on #TVOne. #RepresentExcellence pic.twitter.com/qABUFTbXpq

    — TV One (@tvonetv) March 31, 2019

  8. 8.

    sdhays

    April 1, 2019 at 11:43 am

    Last week, there was some quote from some Republican reacting to the ASSet’s proclamation that the Republicans were going to be the party of healthcare which was something like: “That’s as crazy as saying that the Democrats are going to be the party of national security.” The hubris of that statement really stuck in my craw which is why I remembered it, but while I am not concerned that President Dollhands is going to succeed in making the Republican Party the “party of healthcare” (beyond it’s basic “let them die!” branding), it sure seems that he’s hard at work making “Democrats the party of national security”.

  9. 9.

    Immanentize

    April 1, 2019 at 11:44 am

    @JGabriel: Agree. I think it was the years since during the Obama admin. — and his support of various foreign endeavors (and lobbying) that caused the conflicts/compromised problems.

  10. 10.

    germy

    April 1, 2019 at 11:46 am

    What a time to be alive.

  11. 11.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 1, 2019 at 11:46 am

    From the old thread:
    Rs like Cotton and Turtle have far higher standards for immigrants (seeking asylum, permanent residency, DACA etc) than they do for the President or the people working in the WH.

  12. 12.

    JPL

    April 1, 2019 at 11:46 am

    Every republican needs to be on record whether or not they think this is okay. Apparently, Jim Jordan thinks that this is just another political stunt and pointed out that one on the list is a custodian. We all know that janitors can’t be spies. Am I right. lol

  13. 13.

    Immanentize

    April 1, 2019 at 11:47 am

    @Major Major Major Major: Checking in at the GOS, as I do from time to time, it seems that Mayor Pete is definitely (currently) the Sanders of this early primary season. I wonder if a squirrel will eat from his hand?

  14. 14.

    JPL

    April 1, 2019 at 11:47 am

    @sdhays: Romney is working on a healthcare plan. hahahahahhahahaha

  15. 15.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 1, 2019 at 11:48 am

    Did anyone see the Snooze Hour panel with Jowls of Concern and Humble Brooks? They both were gushing about what a stellar public servant Barr was. Much to husband kitteh’s consternation, I was waving my chef’s knife in the air angrily at the TV, while watching that segment.

  16. 16.

    Kay

    April 1, 2019 at 11:48 am

    Geoff Bennett
    ‏Verified account
    @GeoffRBennett
    Follow Follow @GeoffRBennett
    More
    Senior WH official re @HouseJudiciary : “This is political theater. Chairman Nadler is demanding the release of secret grand jury information and classified material – which is against the law. He should allow the Attorney General to complete his work and stop playing politics.”

    It’s so exonerating they refuse to release it. They released tons of supporting info in the Starr report. The NYTimes has a whole page with linked documents. Trump and his low quality hires should be held to that transparency standard. Allowing them to do lower quality work just sets a new lower bar.

    Where the heck are our “information wants to be free” warriors? Mighty quiet! This information wants to stay secret.

  17. 17.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 1, 2019 at 11:51 am

    @rikyrah: The way T gets a pass with most of the denizens of the elite media in comparison with how nasty they were to Obama, goes to show the depth of bigotry (racism, xenophobia, misogyny) in our newsrooms.

  18. 18.

    JPL

    April 1, 2019 at 11:53 am

    @schrodingers_cat: True.

  19. 19.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 11:55 am

    @Immanentize:

    I didn’t think it would take another 35 years before there was another Black person, man or woman, to occupy the 5th Floor.

  20. 20.

    VOR

    April 1, 2019 at 11:55 am

    @JPL: Along with Rick Scott. They put their Healthcare “experts” on the job.

  21. 21.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 11:56 am

    Maybe she needs to do less Chris Hayes’ and master the basics called CONSTITUENT SERVICES

    G (@GRYKING) Tweeted:
    AOC constituents are calling Kirsten Gillibrand office and leaving voice messages for her. What’s the fuck is going on? https://t.co/tcYpTOQKjJ https://twitter.com/GRYKING/status/1112728967310659584?s=17

  22. 22.

    Major Major Major Major

    April 1, 2019 at 11:57 am

    @Immanentize:

    Mayor Pete is definitely (currently) the Sanders of this early primary season

    I don’t understand what this means.

  23. 23.

    schrodingers_cat

    April 1, 2019 at 11:59 am

    T’s victory lap after the submission of Mueller report consists of going full dictator on immigration.
    1. People are being penned in and made to sleep on gravel
    2. People are dying in immigration detention
    3. He wants to close the southern border
    And we are supposed to understand the people who voted and continue to make excuses for the monster in the WH.

  24. 24.

    Mandalay

    April 1, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    So the grifter and self-appointed champion of women, Mika Brzezinski, engaged in victim blaming this morning when defending Biden on Morning Joe:

    Is it an assault? I’m not sure what she was describing, so we’ll listen.

    I’ve known Joe Biden a long time. He is extremely affectionate. He is extremely flirtatious in a completely safe way.

    I am sure that somebody can misconstrue something he’s done. but as much as I know what’s in anyone’s heart I don’t think there is bad intention on his part at all.

    Maybe there’s a conversation to be had about whether those expressions are OK today.

    Democrats need to ask themselves what exactly is the #metoo line you want to draw!

    It’s a textbook defense of a man who has imposed unwanted physical attention on a woman:
    – There was no assault!
    – The woman misconstrued!
    – Things were different then!
    – He meant no harm!
    – Is this really worth worrying about?

    Everything Brzezinski said in support of Biden could have been said by Conway or Huckabee Sanders in support of Trump.

    Brzezinski is an anvil around the neck of #metoo.

  25. 25.

    bemused

    April 1, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Lock them all up. If only that would actually happen, I’d be doing the happy dance for the rest of my life.

  26. 26.

    randy khan

    April 1, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    Trump hires the best people. There’s no need for any security clearance process for them.

  27. 27.

    satby

    April 1, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    @rikyrah: I have my fingers crossed for Lori Lightfoot.

  28. 28.

    LivinginExile

    April 1, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    @JPL: When I was 18 I was living in Honolulu, working for a maintenance company. There was an FBI office in one of the buildings that I worked in. I had to have security clearance to set foot in their office. We can’t expect republicans to understand that.

  29. 29.

    GregB

    April 1, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    He tweeted today that he has been nice to immigrants thus far but that is about to change.

    This might be why he was recently fantasizing about machine gunning immigrants.

    We are on the precipice of some truly dark times.

    It is one till midnight folks.

    As Leonard Cohen said: You want it dark?

  30. 30.

    Peale

    April 1, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    @JGabriel: It took Flynn all of two seconds after he retired as a General to sign up for lobbying gigs with foreign governments. My guess is that Bolton did the same. The global “Security Expert” consultancy scam.

  31. 31.

    Kattails

    April 1, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Oftentimes when I’m in the kitchen & thinking irritable and/or angry thoughts about someone, I suddenly find that all my knives are getting sharpened. Odd.

  32. 32.

    TerryC

    April 1, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    Have you all see the image yet of (a) Flores with Sanders’ hands on her shoulders, from behind, and (b) the one with Flores standing behind Biden with her hand on his shoulder? ?

  33. 33.

    JPL

    April 1, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    @LivinginExile: Jordan was talking to the fox crowd, although he could believe it also.

  34. 34.

    O. Felix Culpa

    April 1, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    @rikyrah:

    I was a child when Harold won.

    I was in grad school and worked on his campaign. It was an exciting time. So glad there will be a black female mayor regardless of who wins.

  35. 35.

    rikyrah

    April 1, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    @TerryC:

    Nothing but a hit job…

    But…’believe all women’…..

    Phuck outta here.

  36. 36.

    Mike in NC

    April 1, 2019 at 1:05 pm

    Jared sells classified data to the Saudis and Qataris, while Ivanka sells it to the Chinese. Some day that might get told in a book.

  37. 37.

    delk

    April 1, 2019 at 1:15 pm

    @rikyrah: voting for Lori! I also have to vote for an alderman and I can’t believe there are attack ads on TV against Matt Martin. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen TV ads for aldermen.

  38. 38.

    Eric S.

    April 1, 2019 at 1:18 pm

    @rikyrah: None of us really counted on a second Daley spending 26 years on the 5th floor.

  39. 39.

    O. Felix Culpa

    April 1, 2019 at 1:19 pm

    @Eric S.: No kidding.

  40. 40.

    Eric K

    April 1, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    IIRC Bolton was a recess appointment for Bush and never went through the full appointment process, but I may be wrong about that

  41. 41.

    germy

    April 1, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    The whistleblower who raised concerns about White House security clearances, Tricia Newbold, was suspended w/o pay for 2 weeks.

    The stated reason?

    Failure to follow a new policy to scan documents in separate pdf files instead of a single pdf file

    This suspension was the first formal disciplinary action in her 18 year career working for Dem and GOP administrations, and came after she repeatedly raised concerns about the security clearance process in the White House

    Following her raising national security concerns, Tricia Newbold claims her supervisor began to humiliate her — she has a rare form of dwarfism.

    “Mr. Kline repeatedly altered her office environment… such as physically elevating personnel security files out of her reach.”

    Here’s what Ms. Newbold said regarding her dwarfism and what she viewed as retaliation:

    “As little as I am, I’m willing to fight and stand up for what I know is right… it’s humiliating to not be able to independently work and do the job that you need.”

    https://twitter.com/timkmak/status/1112739435408486400

  42. 42.

    J R in WV

    April 1, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    @Kattails:

    I NEED to sharpen my knives — thanks guys!!!

    A dull knife is a dangerous Knife – see DJ Trump!

  43. 43.

    smedley the uncertain

    April 1, 2019 at 1:36 pm

    @Eric K: You are correct. I would expect a security check though.

  44. 44.

    Roger Moore

    April 1, 2019 at 1:38 pm

    @JGabriel:

    I suspect the behavior that makes Bolton a security risk probably occurred after his UN stint – or, even more likely, during it.

    I don’t know about during it, but it’s pretty common for people to cash in after they leave office, and the process of cashing in can certainly hurt their chances of getting their clearance renewed.

  45. 45.

    Kyle Lee Larson

    April 1, 2019 at 1:55 pm

    @rikyrah: yet, he did. He’s the one that lowered the qualifications…

  46. 46.

    VOR

    April 1, 2019 at 2:06 pm

    @Roger Moore: Isn’t Bolton associated with the MEK, a group formally listed by the US Government as a terrorist group? IIRC Rudy 9/11 gave a speech to a meeting of this group recently.

  47. 47.

    sukabi

    April 1, 2019 at 2:12 pm

    Re John Bolton.

    thought he was Bush the Lesser’s UN ambassador, who would presumably need clearance for that job, but maybe not?

    He had 8+ years of non-government time to “explore his options” during which he did a 180 on russia and who knows what else.

  48. 48.

    Citizen Alan

    April 1, 2019 at 2:29 pm

    @germy:

    Crap like this is why I no longer consider republicans to be functionally human.

  49. 49.

    JPL

    April 1, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    @VOR: I forgot about that.

  50. 50.

    sukabi

    April 1, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    @Mandalay: Mika’s going to pave the way for the status quo. She’s a classic enabler, it’s on display every day on that show.

    Thing is we’ve seen footage of Biden for decades being too “friendly, handsy or affectionate”, or whatever you want to call it. We’ve also seen the discomfort on the women’s faces during those moments captured on tape. We’ve ignored their discomfort. Mika would like to continue to ignore their discomfort — and her own.

    It doesn’t matter if Biden’s intentions were innocent or not. What the women he’s hugged, caressed, sniffed or kissed wanted or didn’t want in terms of physical contact with him DIDN’T EVEN REGISTER in his mind, he just hugged, caressed, sniffed and kissed them.

  51. 51.

    Ken

    April 1, 2019 at 2:54 pm

    @JPL:

    Jim Jordan thinks that this is just another political stunt and pointed out that one on the list is a custodian.

    See, to me that raises the question of why the President or someone on his staff wanted that particular person to get that custodial job.

  52. 52.

    Ruckus

    April 1, 2019 at 3:32 pm

    It’s almost like these Trump assholes aren’t serious about national security.

    National security is a roadblock to the theft of riches.

  53. 53.

    Anonymous At Work

    April 1, 2019 at 4:35 pm

    @JGabriel: Speaking circuit for Islamaphobes isn’t big enough to pay for the lifestyle he wanted, so scamming the security gigs, lobbying for odd-ball groups with unclear ties, and probably other things for strange bedfellows that wanted bombs dropped on many parts of the world for less-than-stellar reasons.

  54. 54.

    John Cole

    April 1, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    And nothing will happen.

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