A memo circulating among at least half a dozen advisers to former President Trump recommends that if he is elected, he bypass traditional background checks by law enforcement officials and immediately grant security clearances to a large number of his appointees after being sworn in. The proposal is being promoted by a small group including Boris Epshteyn, a top legal adviser to Trump who was influential in its development.
It is not clear whether Trump has seen the proposal or whether he is inclined to adopt it. It would allow him to quickly install loyalists in major positions without subjecting them to the risk of long-running and intrusive FBI background checks, potentially increasing the risks of people with problematic histories or ties to other nations being given influential roles. Such checks hung up clearances for a number of aides during Trump’s presidency, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Epshteyn himself, the New York Times reports
The proposal suggests using private-sector investigators and researchers to perform background checks on Trump’s intended appointees during the transition, cutting out the role traditionally played by FBI agents. . Once Trump took the oath, he would then summarily approve a large group for access to classified secrets. Asked about the proposal, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, responded with an attack on Vice President Harris, saying she and Democrats “have weaponized the Department of Justice to attack President Trump and his supporters” and that Trump would use “the full powers of the presidency” to build his administration starting on Inauguration Day. A number of Trump’s advisers — and the former president himself — have long viewed background checks for security clearances with deep suspicion. They believe that the process is designed to make challenges to outcomes difficult, and that personal pieces of information submitted during the vetting can be disseminated later for damaging results.
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