Carl Kline (White House official)

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Carl Kline is a former[1] U.S. White House official who was the director of the personnel security office in the Executive Office of U.S. President Donald Trump from May 2017 to January 2019.[2][3] Prior to working for the White House, Kline was the Chief of Personnel Security for Security Policy and Oversight Directorate at the Department of Defense,[4] and he returned to the Department after leaving the Executive Office.[2]

Multiple sources stated in January 2019 that in at least 30 cases where professional security experts expressed concerns about granting top-secret clearance to specific Trump officials including Jared Kushner, Kline had overruled their concerns.[2][5] In Kushner's case, a February 2019 New York Times article stated that Kline was carrying out Trump's instructions, but a May 2019 New York Times story clarified that Kline overruled instructions that were given to him and made decisions on his own accord.[6][7] White House security experts had been overruled only once during the three years preceding the Trump administration.[5][1]

Also in January 2019, one of Kline's staff members, Tricia Newbold, said Kline retaliated against her for raising concerns about security clearance practices and for discriminating against her on the basis of her height.[8][9][10][11][1]

The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Kline, who was at that time working for the Defense Department, to appear before the Committee for an interview on April 23.[12][13] However White House deputy counsel Michael Purpura instructed Kline not to appear at the deposition, citing constitutional concerns.[13] Kline eventually had a private meeting with the committee on May 1.[14] He reportedly told the committee that he made all the decisions about security clearances himself and that no one in the White House instructed him or tried to influence him.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Marquardt, Alex; Cohen, Zachary (January 31, 2019). "White House security official suspended, alleges boss broke rules". CNN. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Officials rejected Kushner for top secret clearance, were overruled". NBC News. 25 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. ^ Enjeti, Saagar (18 July 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Career officials rebut claims of White House interference in security clearance process". The Hill. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  4. ^ Santiago, Ellyn (April 3, 2019). "Carl Kline: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Nguyen, Tina (25 January 2019). ""Hooboy": Trump's White House Has a Massive Security Problem". The Hive. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  6. ^ Rogers, Katie; Haberman, Maggie; Fandos, Nicholas (2019-05-02). "Ex-White House Official Says No One Pressured Him to Overturn Security Clearance Recommendations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  7. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S.; Goldman, Adam; Karni, Annie (28 February 2019). "Trump Ordered Officials to Give Jared Kushner a Security Clearance". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  8. ^ "'Whistleblower" in White House security office seeks protection". NBC News. 13 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Maine native suspended from White House job after questioning security clearance practices". Bangordailynews.com. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  10. ^ "'Whistleblower' in White House security clearance office is suspended". NBC News. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. ^ "'Whistleblower' seeks protection after sounding alarm over White House security clearances". Euronews.com. 13 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  12. ^ Hamburger, Tom (22 April 2019). "White House instructs official to ignore Democratic subpoena over security clearances". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  13. ^ a b Raju, Manu; Murray, Sara (22 April 2019). "White House tells official not to comply with Democratic subpoena over security clearances". CNN Politics. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  14. ^ Caldwell, Leigh (May 2019). "House Democrats not satisfied with Kline answers on security clearances". NBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  15. ^ Watson, Kathryn (May 1, 2019). "White House withholds docs on clearances as ex-security chief testifies". CBS News. Retrieved 4 May 2019.


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