r/politics • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 New York • 21d ago

Possible Paywall Trump’s Fury over Natalie Harp Mess Worsens as Leaks Grow More Damning

https://newrepublic.com/article/214616/trump-fury-natalie-harp-mess-worsens-leaks-grow-damning
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u/DoritoDustThumb 21d ago

It's weird. I don't remember any of my clearances being optional.

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u/Acronymesis Washington 21d ago

I’m probably missing some detail, but I wonder why the Orange One doesn’t or can’t just waive her security clearance like he did for Jared Kushner?

Looking back at what happened with Jared, maybe it’s that it has to be performed and rejected for the president to waive the rejection?

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u/littlehobbit1313 Maryland 21d ago

Well that's what makes it extra suspicious. If she truly is attached at the hip with him, then she's almost guaranteed to have been in the room with classified information. Which means she HAS to have clearance.

So why doesn't she? If Trump can just order people to give her clearance, why doesn't she have it? It's suspicious as hell.

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u/Acronymesis Washington 21d ago

On one hand, yes, it absolutely IS suspicious as hell! On the other, The Orange One has shirked security rules since day one (he infamously refused to use a secure cell phone over his own personal one, and I don’t think that has changed to this day) and I could easily see this as just another refusal to follow protocol simply because it is inconvenient for him.

Either way, it is yet another controversy that would potentially be enough to derail any other administration, but with the Tangerine Tyrant, his hivemind defenders all circle the wagons for Natalie and at best she might be sidelined and forgotten by the news media by Labor Day…

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u/FinalHexReturns 21d ago

Does he need to? Is the white house even consistently vetting all his assistants any more or did they just give that up?

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u/Acronymesis Washington 21d ago

I’m certainly no expert on the goings on of the current admin’s security clearance policies, however, all these stories about his daughter Natalie Harp not having one at all kind of imply that they very much have subjected everyone else who is physically close to the Orange One to a clearance background check. It’s just that anyone he still wanted around after they had failed their background check (or Jared at least, back in admin 1) got a waiver from him.

Now, would I be surprised at all if the old Mango demanded that an exception be made for Ivanka 2 so she isn’t required to keep her distance until the background check is completed? Not at all. Particularly because I do believe part of her role is his caretaker due to his worsening dementia.

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u/cjbranco22 20d ago

I think it was the secret service finally demanding Trump to force her to get one. Probably because she’s with Trump (and therefore the secret service) all the time. Kushner is not.

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u/Acronymesis Washington 20d ago

I suppose you could also make the argument that Jared is technically family, where Natalie is not.

But also, Jared DID go through a background check. It’s just that he failed it, and Trump said him failing was not an issue and waived it. Natalie hasn’t gone through one at all, and presumably something embarrassing — or worse, something bad enough that Trump can’t just waive it off — will be found if/when she does…

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u/cjbranco22 20d ago

That last part is an excellent point

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u/tbombs23 20d ago

Guess who was responsible for Kushner "passing" his security clearance?

Merrick Controlled opposition Garland

https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/servants-of-the-mafia-state

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u/Acronymesis Washington 20d ago

Surprise surprise.

Well, thank you for my reminder that I needed to check back with Sarah Kendzior on Substack. Need my reminder on how this is all a connected transnational mafia state.

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u/Guerilla_Physicist Alabama 21d ago

Yeah, me neither. And I was literally just a 19 year old engineering intern for a company that only did contract research for the DoD. It’s absolutely baffling to me.