Trump advisers propose ditching FBI background checks for security clearances: Reports

A new memo promoted by a group of former presidents Donald Trump‘s advisers suggest he breaks with the long-standing practice of having the FBI vet members of his government to receive security clearances, several sockets reported on Sunday.

The document, authored by Trump legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, suggests that private sector investigators should instead conduct background checks, which are intended to identify personal issues or national security concerns of individuals before allowing them access to classified information .

If the proposal gets the green light, those close to the former president who might otherwise face difficulty obtaining security clearances could gain access to confidential materials.

The New York Times, the first channel to report the newssays it is unclear whether Trump has seen the proposal and would actually agree to its implementation if he is re-elected in November.

It is unknown how many of Trump’s appointees would be affected by the proposed change.

Trump has not publicly commented on the proposal since the reports were published.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the former president, did not directly address the contents of the proposal when the Times reached out for comment. Instead, he made baseless claims Democrats have “weaponized” the Justice Department against the former president, saying Trump would use “the full powers of the presidency” to create his team.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-California) suggested that bypassing FBI background checks would not be in the best interest of the country and would be viewed favorably by U.S. adversaries, including Russia.

“Seems like a good idea to me. If you are a criminal yourself. Or the Kremlin. Who needs a background check? Schiff wrote on social media. “What could go wrong?”

During his first term, some of Trump’s allies, including his son-in-law, spoke Jared Kushnerreportedly had trouble passing the FBI background check. In his case, Trump would have done that intervened so Kushner was given permission after all.