Readers on Jared Kushner's security clearance: Could Trump get clearance if he weren’t president?

Letter to the editor:

For all the reasons Jared Kushner is not qualified to hold a high-level security clearance, President Trump, in all probability, would not qualify either. But since he is the president, it doesn’t seem to matter. 

How can a political party run a candidate for president who has not been vetted for a high-level clearance? Shouldn’t this be part of the election process? Does anyone find this to be a major gap in our nation’s security? Add to that: Our president refuses to defend us against foreign interference in our electoral system. Now you get a country in a bad state of affairs.

Bob Bascelli; Seaford, N.Y.

Comments are edited for clarity and grammar: 

Kushner's clearance was only downgraded, for now. It wasn't eliminated — there is a difference.

— Larry Hubble

It only took over a year for the Trump administration to downgrade the security clearance Kushner should've never been given in the first place. Talk about inefficiency with the "best and brightest."

— Mike Johnson

Has anyone ever heard of a high-level official not being able to get high-level security clearance?

Clearly, Kushner has already been exposed to high-level information. Why have security clearances if anyone can have access anyway? It just seem so incompetent and negligent.

— Sandra Brown

Republicans have given a pass to the entire Trump family to do anything they want. No security clearance needed — those just get in the way.

— Donny Kelly

What a joke. At least with Kushner in the White House still undergoing the security clearance process, it shows Trump's a straight shooter. If Trump wanted to override White House Chief of Staff John Kelly's decision, he could easily do so.

— Robert Johnson

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