that whistleblower is tricia newbold. for the last 18 years, she worked under republicans and democrats in the personnel security office at the white house. it is unclear if she will stay on the job following the allegations. the white house has yet to comment on her future. a career white house official says 25 people in the trump administration were granted security clearances despite disqualifying issues. >> things like drug uses, criminal activity. >> reporter: a memo from elijah cummings says tricia newbolt felt this is my last hope to bring integrity into the office. >> the things she has told us -- >> reporter: newbold told the committee about two senior white house officials still on the job, both drew objections on staff.

tricia newbold has a rare form of dwarfism so moving things out of her reach is clearly a terrible way of retaliating against her. newbold also told the committee 25 security clearance denials were overruled by the trump administration. she said they were issued for multiple reasons including foreign influence and confluct of interest. we should note today's oversight committee to authorize a subpoena for klein didn't happen without a few fireworks. >> she came forward because the system at the white house is so dysfunctional that she believes congress needs to intervene. >> first a saturday deposition, then yesterday a press release after talking to just one witness where you hand pick a few parts of her testimony and now today we're going to subpoena a guy who said he's willing to come here voluntarily. i've been on this committee ten years. i've never seen anything like this. >> oh, please. >> i haven't. >> you've done it. >> carl cline's attorney released a statement saying the subpoena issued today does not change mr. kline's willingness to appear and answer legitimate questions t

. >> tricia newbold has worked in the white house for the past 18 years.lawmakers she and other security staffers denied security clearances for approximately 25 trump administration officials only to have those recommendations overturned. but newbold who has dwarfism alleges her superiors retaliated against her when she raised concerns including taking essential files panting them high up out of her reach. >> trevor: yeah, that's a real thing someone has said about this administration. at some point you're, like, what is wrong with these people? it's like a bunch of middle school bullies put in charge of america's government. you put a thing on a high shelf because a person is a dwarf? at some point we're going to hear they try to give bernie sanders a wedgie, you know? he's probably going to be, joke's on you, i haven't worn underwear since the '60s! ( laughter ) and you know what massive props to tricia newbold over here because even after facing this childish revenge -- ( applause ) -- listen to this, believe it or not, she still showed up to work toda

memo ou oversight committee chairman elijah cummings said a white house whistle-blower named tricia newboldplained that 25 officials were granted security clearances despite disqualifying issues raised by herself and other career officials. in an interview with committee staff nine days ago, newbold said she came forward because she could not sit back knowing that the issues that we have could impact national security. newbold said three unnamed senior white house officials, two of whom still work there, drew objections due to concerns about potential foreign influence, conflict of interest, or business entanglements. the house oversight committee has asked the white house for security clearance-related documents for ivanka trump, son- in-law and white house adviser jared kushner, and national security adviser john bolton. newbold lives near baltimore and did not respond to our request for comment. >> i am convinced that she simply wants government to run the way government is supposed to run. >> reporter: president trump does have the authority to grant security clearances regardless of st

long-time white house security specialist tricia newbold accused kline of overturning security clearances for at least 25 people, despite serious disqualifying issues. we'll have more on this story after headlines with congressmember ro khanna. the oversight committee also voted tuesday to subpoena commerce secretary wilbur ross for documents related to the department's decision to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census. voting rights activists say the citizenship question will lead to a vast undercount in states with large immigrant communities, impacting everything from the redrawing of congressional maps to the allocation of federal funding. this is california congressmember k katie hill. >> a recent study commissioned by the senses euro itself that shows neaearly half ofof purchae evevent in the study think the census i is used d to identify people here without legalal documentntation, which in and of itself s shows how unlikely they are to fully dissipate in the study. amy: the supreme court is set to hear a case challenging the census citizenship question this month. "the

>> this wheistleblower we're talking about from the white house, her name is tricia newbold. she's someone i've been speaking with for several months now as she's been sounding the alarm about security clearances that have been forced through. now in a new report, she details how she compiled a list of 35 individuals whose security clearances were denied but then overturned. among them, another source tells me, ivanka trump and jared kushner. a white house whistleblower is alleging the trump administration's handling of security clearances is threatening u.s. national security. the 18-year career official claiming the trump administration gave security clearances to dozens of people who shouldn't have had them, including, according to a source, the president's daughter, ivanka trump, and son-in-law, jared kushner, overruling the office that determines whether a person should get access to the country's bigs secrets. in a letter to the white house counsel, house oversight committee chairman, elijah cummings, said the whistleblower, named tricia newbold, a career supervisor in

this follows the testimony of whistle-blower tricia newbold mishandled that. you have the testimony that they cherry-picked and gave a partisan game. check out what elijah cummings and the top republican on that commish said. >> i have been on this commity ten years and i have never seen anything like this. >> oh, please. >> i haven't. i think it's my time, mr. chairman. >> you're out of time. you didn't run. >> we didn't run the time. >> you will get -- listen to me. >> so to set aside the partisan bickering, cummings told me and other reporters that he views the security clearance process as a national security threat, an imminent threat. he said he would not be doing his job, he would not be fulfilling his oath of office if he didn't fully look into it, steph. >> peter, i have to turn to you. i know last night you spoke to that very brave woman who pushed this investigation forward, the whistle-blower herself, tricia newbold. what did she tell you? i can only hope big-time lawyers are helping her through this process pro bono. i think jeff sessions has some

what does it mean that the career officials, including tricia newbold inside the administration deniedpeople clearances? >> what it means is, in their judgment, because of -- every case is different. that's why being an adjudicator is a challenging job and why experience is knows -- in those jobs is so important. those are factors that over time the intelligence and security communities, if you want to call it that, have learned that are yellow or red flags for people who are then a judged to be vulnerable to coercion, influence or other kind of negative behavior from a securities standpoint. >> i want to tap into your expertise to get a judgment call by you on something ee liej you cummings said. he compared this to hillary clinton's emails and email servers. he thinks this, the overruling of 25 security clearances is a million times worse than the emails. what you have are people with the top secrets of the world. he says a million times worse than the emails. maybe not that hyperbolic, but compare the two. >> it's hard, john, because you have to know what the individual cases are of

elijah cummings released a memo on the interview with tricia newbold. white house staff she has worked in republican and democratic administrations. >> she told investigators the 25 individuals had a wide range of serious disqualifying issues including foreign influence, con fli flikts of interest, concerning personal conduct, financial problems, drug use and criminal conduct. a source tells cnn both jared kushner and ivanka trump are on the list of 25. important to note, though, the president is legally entitled to order a security clearance for anyone he wishes. chairman cummings comparing the clearance overrides to hillary clinton's use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state. >> if the violations are accurate, and i do think they are, as ms. newbold has told us, i think this is a million times worse. what you have here are people who literally have the top secrets of the world, and they have not been properly cleared. that should alarm each and every american. >> jared kushner responded last night on fox news. >> over the last two years tha

that whistleblower is tricia newbold.or the last 18 years, she worked under republicans and democrats in the personnel security office at the white house. it is unclear if she will stay on the job following the allegations. the white house has yet to comment on her future. a career white house official says 25 people in the trump administration were granted security clearances despite disqualifying issues. >> things like drug uses, criminal activity. >> reporter: a memo from elijah cummings says tricia newbolt felt this is my last hope to bring integrity into the office. >> the things she has told us -- >> reporter: newbold told the committee about two senior white house officials still on the job, both drew objections on staff. the objections were overruled, despite concerns such as foreign influence. none of the 25 people were named in the memo. the committee has been investigating security clearances of nine senior officials, including the president's son-in-law and white house adviser, jared kushner. fox news' laura i

this whistleblower who elijah cummings called a whistleblower, tricia newbold does not identify anyone by name, but says there were 25 individuals that she listed since 2018 who were allowed to get their security clearances despite initial denials by career officials who had raised significant concerns about their back grounds. now, according to this memo it says this, according to ms. newbold these individuals had a wide ranging disqualifying issues cloug conflicts of interest, concerning personnel conflict, financial problems, drug use and criminal conduct. she goes ton to tell house democratic and republican staff on this committee about a range of concerns about the way the security clearance process works at the trump white house. she said there is not adequate staff to review this, said there is not enough security to look over the personal security files. she also says there is, quote, an unusually high number of individuals who get interim security clearances who she said should not. she said she is people who got interim security clearances were later deemed unsuitable for acc

. >> tricia newbold told the house oversight committee that senior trump administration officials overrulednd other career employees who denied the applications because of concerns of foreign influence -- over foreign influence, conflicts of interest, criminal conduct, and drug use. >> "the new york times" had reported that president trump had ordered officials to approve the security clearance of son-in-law jared kushner. kushner was asked about the latest allegations last night. >> over the last two years that i've been here, i've been accused of all different types of things. all of those things have turned out to be false. we've had a lot of crazy accusations, like that we colluded with russia. i complied with all the different investigations. >> republicans have dismissed the whistle-blower's allegations as overblown. democrats plan to subpoena her former supervisor as early as today. >>> president trump is reportedly bringing in an immigration czar to coordinate the administration's policy against several agencies as migrants continue to head to the u.s. in droves. the president is ag

. >> reporter: the stunning charge comes from tricia newbold, an 18-year career white house security specialist, who told congress 25 officials in the trump administration had their top secret security clearances granted by the white house, even though she and her colleagues recommended they be denied. why is this issue so important that you felt the need to speak out? >> the protection of national security is not a democratic issue or a republican issue. it's an american issue. >> reporter: newbold, who has filed a discrimination complaint against her white house superior told lawmakers about those officials serious disqualifying issues including foreign influence and conflict of interest. today her explosive allegations sparking a showdown on capitol hill. >> issue a press release, handpicked, cherry picked parts of her testimony. >> i will protect whistle-blowers, period. >> reporter: nbc first reported that jared kushner was among those whose security denial was overruled. and according to "the new york legally, he has the powe grant clearances to anyone he chooses. overnight kus

. >> tricia newbold is an 18-year veteran of the security clearance process, and she testified, "i haveer seen anything like this." >> a second woman has come forward with accusations against joe biden. >> a connecticut woman is saying the former vice president inappropriately toucd he rubbing noses. >> president trump cut aid to central american countries amid caravan chaos at the border. >> el paso saw such a spike in migrants that officials were forced to house some of them under this border bridge. >> university of south carolina student killed after getting into the wrong car, believing it was her uber. >> she had a personality and

. >> reporter: a memo from house oversight committee chairman elijah cummings says tricia newbold felt this is my last hope to bring the integrity back into our office. >> things she has told us a shocking. >> reporter: she told the committee about two senior white house officials who are still on the job. both drew objections by staff but those objections were overruled despite concerns such as foreign influence. none of the 25 people were named in the memo. the committee has already been investigating the security clearances of nine senior officials including the president's son-in-law and white house advisor jared kushner. fox news laura ingram asked if he posed a grave concern. >> i can say i work with some phenomenal people and i think over the last 2 years the president has been doing a phenomenal job to identify where the national security priorities are. >> reporter: he was celebrated at the white house yesterday. >> his life became extremely complex. and he wouldn't trade it. i don't think he would trade it because what he's doing is incredible. >> reporter: jim jordan of ohio

those are the allegations that were raised in that private witness testimony with tricia newbold who the democrats say is a whistleblower from the white house raising serious concerns. nowo casio cortez said what is next for the white house putting unusual codes on instagram direct messages, that is something she said in the hearing and afterwards i asked her about jared kushner and ivanka trump and whether she believes they should have security clearances revoked? >> well, you know, i think it depends on the process. did they go through the full security clearance process and were there any flags raised and were there clearances -- did that process get overridden through the proper channels. >> reporter: republicans say this is not anywhere near as bad as the hillary clinton e-mail situation. what is your response. >> it is like i said in committee, we're getting reports that there is communication happening with saudi officials via what's app. i mean, like i said in there, what is next instagram dms. this is completely insecure and the issue with that, as we saw in the lead-up to s

tricia newbold, who has worked in the white house personnel security office for 18 years, warns the situation, "could impact national security." she says among those 25 people, two "very senior white house officials" with "significant disqualifying factors, including foreign influence and outside activities." a memo released from the house oversight committee doesn't name names. and earlier this year, president trump denied he had overruled security officials to secure a top secret clearance for his son-in-law, jared kushner. >> did you tell general kelly or anyone else at the white house to overrule security officials? >> no, i don't think i have the authority to do that. i'm not sure i do. but i wouldn't -- i wouldn't do it. jared's a good -- i was -- i was never involved in his security. >> reporter: ivanka trump doubled down in this interview with "the view's" abby huntsman. >> the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance, zero. >> reporter: but just days after that interview, "the new york times" reported the president had in fact ordered his form

tricia newbold, an 18-year veteran of the personnel security office, told congress the denials were for reasons including foreign influence, conflicts of interesting concerning personal conduct, financial problems, drug use and criminal conduct. democrats claim this situation a million times worse than security concerns over the clinton email server. >> you've got all the secrets going to people who shouldn't even have a security clearance possibly. >> reporter: at least two of those individuals, newbold claims, were very senior white house officials and while she mentions no one by name, one of those appears to be the president's son-in-law jared kushner who "the new york times" reported the president ordered his chief of staff to grant a top secret clearance to against the recommendation of intelligence officials, something the president denies. >> no, i don't think i have the authority to do that. i'm not sure i do, but i wouldn't -- i wouldn't do it. >> reporter: overnight kushner fighting back telling fox news. >> i've been accused of all different types of things and all those thi

tricia newbold, who is a veteran white house security advisor, claims applications that were denied forns were overturned with little explanation. algeria's embattled leader, abdelaziz bouteflika, is expected to resign before april the 28th — the last day of his current term in office. mr bouteflika, who is 82 years old and has been in ill health for years, was forced to abandon his bid for a fifth term after a month of nationwide protests. venezuela's supreme court has requested that the opposition leader, juan guaido, be stripped of his parliamentary immunity. that request is expected to be approved by the government—controlled constituent assembly, within days. last week he was banned from holding office for fifteen years. scientists say a simple blood test could greatly improve the speed and accuracy of pre—eclampsia diagnoses. the relatively common condition, which affects pregant women, can prove fatal if left untreated. researchers at king's college london say the blood test is more reliable than traditional methods using blood pressure and urine samples. what does air pollution

threatening to issue subpoenas to secure testimony from those named by a white house whistleblower, tricia newboldials whose cases are addressed in detail by newbold. fans and hip—hop royalty alike have been paying tribute to nipsey hussle. the grammy nominated star was killed outside his clothing store in los angeles over the weekend. two other people were wounded. police are still looking for a suspect. the bbc‘s sophie long has the story. # breaking down a swisher in front of your building #. nipsey hussle was a rising star in the music scene. his album victory lap was recently nominated for a grammy. but here in south los angeles, where he grew up, he was as well—known for his community work he was for his music. he made no secret of his early life in a street gang. i grew up in la in the ‘90s. gang culture was what was going on, you know, outside of my family structure. on sunday afternoon, nipsey hussle tweeted. he said: "it's a blessing to have strong enemies." within an hour, he'd been shot dead in a burst of gunfire outside his clothing store. now people have come to pay their respects an

him about the concerns that were raised by this person that they're calling a whistleblower, tricia newbold who works at the white house who has raised concerns that roughly two dozen people had their security clearances approved despite initial denials. expect that subpoena to be authorized at this committee vote this morning, but expect a lot of fireworks, too, because republicans call this another arbitrary and reckless move in the words of republicans. this is going to be pretty contentious in just a matter of minutes here, guys. >> all right. manu, thank you for the reporting on both fronts. we are lucky to have our chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin by our side. thank you for being here. let's back up and start where manu started, on the deadline that bill barr is not going to hit. the deadline that the republicans call arbitrary. he tics through four areas that he thinks needs to be redacted. his argument is by law that's grand jury info. we know that courts can overrule that and can rule that that can be turned over. we saw it in watergate. >> not only that, you know, the way we hav

reporter: the memo from house yoyfr sight committee elijah cummings said a whistle-blower named tricia newboldlaimed that 25 officials were granted security clearances despite disqualifying issues raised by herself and other career officials. in an interview with committee staff nine days ago, newbold said she came forward because she could not sit back knowing that the issues that we have could impact national security. newbold said three unnamed senior white house officials, two of whom still work there, drew objections due to concerns about potential foreign influence, conflict of interest business entanglements. the house oversight committee has asked the white house for security-related clearance documents for ivanka trump, son-in-law and white house adviser jared kushner, and national security adviser john bolton. newbold lives near baltimore and did not respond to our request for comment. >> i am convinced that she simply wants government to run the way government is supposed to run. >> reporter: president trump does have the authority to grant security clearances regardless of staff ob

the individual in which this woman tricia newbold worked who administration for past 18 years worked in the white house. right now she's alleging that this individual mr. klein overrode her concerns about a number of individuals, 25 individuals. we've learned ivanka trump and jared kushner are among them who got the security clearances despite the initial concerns. jim jordan, the top republican, just came out and said that this is all a political show. and asked him if he had any concerns about the whistleblower -- what the whistleblower crazed to the committee? >> so obviously we'll show her the respect that any whistleblower deserves. but the bottom line is she said this in her interview, the president of the united states can -- is entitled to have the people around him who he thinks will give him as commander and chief the best possible advice. >> but she said there is lackluster safeguards and people got interim security clearances who were later deemed not to -- do you take any of those concerns seriously? >> i think we take seriously the process that should be played out in d

she was scared to death. >> the woman chairman cummings is referring to there is tricia newbold, thethe at least 25 trump administration officials who received security clearances despite opposition from her and her colleagues in the personnel office. she spoke exclusively to nbc news white house correspondent peter alexander about the humiliation she faced from carl kline in retaliation for her speaking out. >> what happened to you inside the eob. >> the most recent suspension, 14 days unpaid, probably the worst ones is the retaliation against my disability. so moving the security files out of my reach, not once, not twice, three times, and moving other office equipment out of my reach. >> literally putting on shelves that you couldn't reach. >> yeah. yep. so it's definitely humiliating. >> how did that make you feel to have that experience? >> humiliated. absolutely. but it didn't stop me from doing what was right. >> why is this issue so important that you felt the need to speak out? >> the protection of national security is not a democratic issue or a republican issue. it's an am

no, i don't think so. ( laughter ) ( piano riff ) career white house employee tricia newbold testifiedn congress that the original denials were for a range of disqualifying issues, including "foreign influencoof interest, concerning personal conduct, financial problems, drug use, and criminal conduct." ( audience reacts ) which is also the motto on the trump family crest. ( laughter ) sounds classier in latin. sounds better in latin. ( applause ) ( laughter ) ( piano riff ) the reasons for overturning these security denials were pretty flimsy. in one case, a senior official was denied clearance after a background check turned up concerns about possible foreign influence. but newbold's boss stepped in to reverse the decision, writing that "the activities occurred prior to federal service." (as boss) "come on, why are these background checks so obsessed on the past? ( laughter ) for pete's sake, there is no proof he has done anything bad in the future!" ( laughter ) look forward. come on! ( laughter ) there could be some big names on the list, including two current senior white house off

. >> reporter: tricia newbold is speaking out to protect the country. >> it is important that we stant up to do the r thing, no matter what. >> reporter: newbold tells congress the white house overruled her recommendations 25 times approving security clearances for son-in-law ivanka and his daughter ivankrump and others with serious disqualifying issues like foreign influence and conflict of interest and financial problems. >> it is very concerning. could be substantial manipulati by other countries, drug abuse, all kinds ofin . >> reporter: newbold approached the house oversight committee. >> she was scared >> reporter: the committee elsued a subpoena for the former white house perso director to explain how security clearances are proved. >> they are asking for personal and prite and confidential information from individuals that they know that they have no ri tt to see andy're putting the 3 million people that do have a security clearance at risk. >> reporter: and we're now learning about a security scare at president' florida estate. a chinese citizen arrested at the a mar-a-lago cl

>> this, after a white house whistleblower tricia newbold told of 25 instances to deny security clearanceslet's bring in cnn politics director, zach wolf, live for us this wednesday morning in washington bright and early. good morning, zach, how are you? >> good, how are you? >> i'm wondering, the trump story line is, it will never be enough for democrats. could he be right? >> it's certainly not enough if they don't get to see everything. he might be taking the republicans with the clinton investigations that sort of never felt like enough, his own conspiracy theories about president obama, his place of birth. it was never enough. there's political opposition, never being satisfied with what they are given. in this case, you can't say they are never going to be satisfied before they give the report. the summary with the most beneficial things to him in it. you have to let people see the evidence before you say they are not going to be satisfied. >> they seem to be opening themselves up to the criticism, can they walk and chew gum at the same time? that was the question after taking back t

her name is tricia newbold. >> why is this so important you felt the need to speak out. >> the protection of national security is not a democratic or republican issue, it'age american issue. we oh, it to make the recommendations in the best interest of national security. i'm always concerned, but it's important we do the right thing no matter what. >> am i correct you issued subpoenas on exactly this question of security clearances in the white house? what are they seeking? >> basically this subpoena with clearances seeks the testimony of an individual named karl kline. he was the supervisor for miss newbold. she alleged that 25 individuals hadcases in which they were denied and overturned by the white house. they basically granted access to potentially top secret materials. one of the irregularities is that she said credit checks have been stopped with regard to applicants. why somebody should get access to top secret materials when they can't passe credit check is beyond me. >> there is a security headline that i wanted to get your thoughts on, given the area of investigation going into

as "the washington post" reports, a whistleblower named tricia newbold told the panel that kushner's clearance was specifically denied last year because of foreign influence, private business interests, and personal conduct. >>> joining me now, nbc news white house correspondent, kelly o'donnell and "washington post" political investigative reporter tom hamburg. so miss newbold is giving us some more reasons why jared kushner was denied. what veelse have you learned? >> miss newbold testified last weekend for hours before the house oversight committee, and she described in some detail the pressure that she felt under and the extent of the denials that she and a colleague in the security clearance processing office had issued, for individuals she described in the documents that were first released as white house official 1, white house official 2, and white house official 3, as you just mentioned. we now know that white house official 1 was jared kushner and that she had expressed multiple reasons for concern about kushner, but her recommended denial of his security clearance was over

the whistleblowers name is tricia newbold, she is a manager in the white house personnel security officee told a house committee that those 25 people include at least two senior administration officials whose backgrounds were deemed disqualifying by intelligence officials. newbold said there were concerns about foreign influence, drug use and criminal conduct. >>> up next, another bite from the taxman. the hike in the sales tax taking effect today. which bay area cities are affected and the impact for online retailers? >> anger in the east bay. hundreds of dollars of silent auction items for a little league fundraiser gone. the investigation now underway. >>> late showers falling now in time for the afternoon commute. more showers in the 5 day forecast. pretty much all week. i will have the specifics when we see you next. >>> also ahead, three people sent to the hospital after a hot air balloon crashed into powerlines today in napa. >>> it is no april fools joke. sales tax increases are taking effect up-and-down the state of california. henry lee tells us which bay area cities are on the

this all started from a -- when a white house staffer tricia newbold came forward and has told top investigatorsrruled clearance concerns on not one or two people but about 25 people

the house oversight released testimony from tricia newbold.e told them that the administration overruled dozens of security clearance denials, pressured her to change recommendations and tried to bypass the review process all together. then she said it retaliated against her for raising occurrence. her testimony as summarized by democrats paints a chilling portrait of a range of administration officials being granted access to classified information despite serious red flags changing from foreign influence to criminal conflict. a member of the house oversight committee, jerry conley of virginia. thank you very much for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> what are was your take away from her testimony? >> well, it's both chilling and more of the same. we already knew that games were being played with interim security clearances and with overrides such as jared kushner's security clearance and that led to memos of concern by the then chief of staff, general kelly, and mr. mcgahn, the white house counsel. now we know from miss newbold who allowed hers

that vote comes just one day after whistle-blower tricia newbold accused the administration of seriallyng the security clearance process. oversight committee chairman elijah cummings has been requesting information about the security clearance process since january and cited the white house's refusal to comply with his requests as justification for today's vote on subpoenas. >> to this day they have not produced a single piece of paper or a single requested witness to this committee. the white house needs to understand that they cannot stonewall and stall this committee for months. and then just offer us a general information about their policies. not when such -- there are such serious allegations of a risk to national security. >> at today's committee meeting, congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez commented on the trump administration's loose policies with security clearances and loose practices involving national security communication. >> folks are suggesting that we are conducting foreign relations with folks with security clearances via whatsapp. i mean, every day that we go on w

the oversight committee has a whistleblower who came to us, tricia newbold, who tells us that 25 peoplese applications for high security clearance was rejected got security clearance because of the political intervention of the white house. now the white house and the executive branch are refusing to turn over any documents about any of these cases and they are refusing to produce any witnesses to us. you know, we want to have don mcgahn testify in the judiciary committee about the fact that president trump told him to go and fire the special counsel, which is a cardinal act of obstruction of justice and yet the white house is now pulling the plug on that, attempting to interfere. they're going to court to try to stop deutsche bank from producing documents that have been requested by the intelligence committee and they're trying to stop the house ways and means committee from getting the president's tax returns which we are legally entitled to. what's happening here is the obstructionism that we head about in the mueller report by the department of justice by the president is confrontin

. >> ed passman is the attorney for tricia newbold. elijah cummings saying your client was, quote, scared to death. what is she afraid might happen. >> she's afraid she may lose her job. she's a civil service employee with 19 years of service and never had any prior discipline but under this administration she received first a letter of expectation and then a two-week suspension and more recently she's been removed from her position as supersizeory adjudication manager. >> and she tried to address the overturning of denial of security clearances internally before going externally and that is very but she spoke at length to the committee, there is ten pages outlining in a memo the summary of hours and hours of testimony, can you tell us who senior white house official number one and two is, two of the people who are overturned. these are senior white house officials who were issued denials by your client in a first line adjudicator after back ground investigation revealed significant disqualifying activities including personal misconduc

according to a memo released monday, tricia newbold, who works in the white house personnel security office, told the house oversight and reform committee that the individuals had been flagged by her office for concerns including blackmail, conflicts of interests, criminal conduct, and foreign influence. the chair of the oversight committee, elijah cummings, indicated he would seek to subpoena carl kline, who served as newbold's supervisor and overruled her denials. newbold said she was subject to retaliation for refusing to issue the clearances, including a 14-day suspension without pay. the white house has previously come under fire for its handling of security clearances. reports emerged earlier this year that president trump pressured his former chief of staff john kelly to grant clearances for his daughter ivanka and his son-in-law jared kushner, despite the objections of intelligence officials. ivanka trump and jared kushner are reportedly included in the group of 25 individuals newbold raised. two competing disaster relief bills have stalled in the senate as democrats and pres

this is tricia newbold, and basically, the white house then overruled the judgment of the staff withether they should have access to top secret materials. and there is all kinds of irregularities in the process as well. >> in terms of the irregularities in the process, that appears to be a key part of what newbold is alleging, because obviously if the president wants to walk down fifth avenue handing out security clearances willy-nilly, basically it's his right to do as the chief executive. he can be as irresponsible with security clearances as he wants to be within his rights, but she's alleging that when these decisions were made to overrule the recommendations from career staff, there was basically no process. it was sort of done capriciously. >> correct. >> why is that so much more of a concern to her than just the clearances being awarded themselves? >> so it's true that the president has the prerogative to award these security clearances, but there is the a process by which the staff vets people. so just as an example, one of the things that they do for everybody is they basica

his name came into the news after democrats said they had a whistleblower by the name of tricia newbold who worked in the white house and raised concerns about the security clearance process, saying that there were at least 25 individuals whose security clearances were denied only to be overruled by mr. kline. the question for democrats is who overruled and why did mr. kline have those orders to do so? now, what we have learned that jared kushner and ivanka trump were on the list of those 25 vigilance. and earlier this afternoon, i asked elijah cummings, the house oversight committee chairman about what he hopes mr. kline will tell them nabt jared kushner and ivanka trump's security clearances. >> what i do know is that he apparently got certain information that was contrary to the decision that was finally made to give them the security clearances. and so, i need -- once i know that, then i can figure out, we well, whether this was a decision on his part, a decision on the president's part, but more significantly, why that decision was made. i just don't know. >> do you take any of tho

but were overruled and that's according to a whistleblower, a named on the record human being, tricia newbold who works in the office that oversees them. they were denied initially for a range of issues including financial issues, possible foreign influence, a number of things, but overruled by someone else in the administration. how do you see this issue? >> well, it's important to say that the president of the united states does have the legal authority to overrule the recommendations of the people who do the screening. that is legal. it is customarily not done. it is a norm that the president does not do this because these are -- these are serious issues. this just underlines, again, the problems with nepotism. that the reason people don't have their close relatives, their son-in-law, their daughters in the close business relationships, especially in the white house, is that you don't know that decisions are being made on the merits, as opposed to because of family considerations. why does jared kushner and ivanka trump have security clearances if they are said not to be deserving of them?

committee which has been looking into this issue of security clearances and we heard in public from tricia newboldour committee has sproeken to her but we got to hear her voice last night and she explained why she revealed to your committee that 25 people inside of the administration who had initially been denied their clearance, it was then overruled, she explained why she went forward with this information. let's listen to her. >> the protection of national security is not a democratic issue or a republican issue, it's an american issue. i am always concerned. it's important that we stand up to do the right thing no matter what. >> this is my question to you as you now have issued a subpoena to her supervisor to have him come in and testify, what do you want to find out? >> it's incumbent on us to find out why these recommendations not to issue security clearances were overruled, what were the conditions under which the decision was made by the fbi. typically it's over a conflict of interest or foreign involvement or a criminal background. so we want to know what the fbi originally thought and t

. >> thirst whistle-blower tricia newbold had been doing it for years. >> ran the racquets committeethe presidency. he was one sharp political cookie. you want to have him around. jared kushner, the conflicts he had is all he had was conflicts. that was his resume, the conflicts. these foreign business relations. >> special rules for family, but also special rules for other political appointees. and, again, throughout the white house, you have individuals with access to classified information, sensitive secrets, potentially sources and methods, law enforcement methods, other things that are vital for national security, and you give it to people who can't we trusted or subjected for foreign influence, that's national security issue. >> the justice department building. you know who it was named after? robert f. kennedy. what is this story going to lead to, subpoenas by elijah co cummings. >> he's going to try but the white house is going to fight. >> the whole dirty deal, this nepotistic crap. thank you cuba ken dilanian and jeremy bash. >>> up next, hard to belief stuff about trump. l

elijah cummings revealed yesterday that tricia newbold who works in the white house's personnel security her issues about the dysfunction she says she's witnessed over the past two years. newbold, an 18 year veteran of the security clearance process who has served in both republican and democratic presidents told lawmakers that the trump administration overruled at least 25 security clearance denials despite concerns about blackmail, foreign influence, or other red flags. she says that decisions to overturn those denials cou s jeopardize national security. elijah cummings said his committee will subpoena the personnel security director at the white house during the first two year of the trump administration today and that more subpoenas may follow. >> so, david ignatius, first of all, what are your concerns about the fact that 25 recommendations were overruled by donald trump and i had administration regarding security clearances that this oversight panel felt should not be handed out? >> joe, i think this is a classic example, if it's proven to be true of executive overreach and manipul