The White House quietly directed the FBI to stop the background investigation process for dozens of President Donald Trump’s top employees, and shifted the process to the Pentagon, stating the ABC News by sources familiar with the matter.
The direction came out last month when agents assigned the task of completing the background investigation, which was held interview with a handful of the top White House – a standard part of the background investigation process.
Sources said the White House officials took an unusual step to investigate the background after infiltrating the process.
The process typically includes a review of financial records, foreign contacts, previous employment and any possible security risks along with extensive interviews.
Sources said that the White House decided to transfer the background investigation process to the Defense Department to complete the check for the White House personnel.
An FBI official told ABC News that the approach was “extremely unusual”.
A former FBI official told ABC News, “If any of these is true, and if you historically apply it historically to the Remit of the FBI, it will break that historic, long -standing example and highly unusual.” “It would be highly unusual if he was taken away from the FBI, whatever the reason, and to the DOD or any other agency.”
The defense logo department is seen on the wall in the press briefing room in Pentagon on October 29, 2024 in Washington.
Kevin Wolf/AP
The newly established FBI director Kash Patel said in a statement to ABC News, “The rebuilding of the FBI Trust, restoring law and order and giving good agents to good agents is constantly focusing on our mission – and we have full confidence that DOD can address any requirement in the clearance process.”
Representatives of the Pentagon raised questions in the White House on the matter.
Sources said that the background investigation process was confirmed by Patel on 20 February by the Senate. Sources said that the FBI is still checking the background for the posts required to confirm the Senate.
Pentagon’s defense counter -protect and security agency (DCSA) completes the wholesale of background investigation for the federal government. The FBI investigates for the appointment of the President, which requires the confirmation of the Senate as well as some other presidential appointment including the employees of the White House.
Historically, the administration has rely on the FBI background check -up process to ensure that the personnel they are hiring are fulfilling strict moral standards and do not risk compromising on national security.
In the SF -86 form filled by the federal employees used by the federal employees seeking security approval and the background, the SF -86 form stated, “The background check for the national security posts is done to gather information to determine whether you are reliable, reliable, for good conduct and character, and the US, and” SF -86 for the US, “SF -86 Forms said that the security approval by the federal employees said Used for background check.
However, Trump and several of his colleagues entered the White House with a bitter disbelief of the bureau, arguing that it was “weapons” through the prosecution brought against him by former Special Advocate Jack Smith against him. In the initial month of administration, his top political appointments quickly went to purify the senior ranks of the FBI and DOJ and any person tied to Smith’s prosecution and he believed that he would not be politically loyal to Trump.
A memorandum was released in Trump’s first president’s action, giving the highest level of security to the top officials of the White House, which were not fully veto through the background check process.
According to sources familiar with the case, the list of officials did not publicly disclose, which included dozens of high-level White House employees.
In the memorandum, Trump claimed that there was a “backlog” in the security approval process – an issue he blamed on the administration of the President Joe Biden.
However, Trump’s transition team refused to enter an agreement with the Department of Justice under the biden for months to initiate the background investigation process for those who will work for the employees of Trump, who have now contributed to the staff issues that they now face.
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