Bharara trolls WH: Every member of Mueller’s team has a permanent security clearance

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara trolled the White House in a tweet Wednesday after it was reported that more than a hundred of President Trump’s staffers worked without permanent security clearances as recently as November.

“You know who has permanent security clearances? Every member of special counsel [Robert] Mueller’s team,” Bharara tweeted.

You know who has permanent security clearances? Every member of special counsel Mueller’s team. https://t.co/RIjCAHlq05

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) February 15, 2018

Mueller’s team of investigators, comprised of former prosecutors and Justice Department officials, is investigating potential ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian election meddling.

{mosads}CNN reported Wednesday that numerous top officials in Trump’s White House, including his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and former staff secretary Rob Porter, were three of more than 100 White House staffers that still had an interim security clearance in November, a year after Trump’s election.

At least 24 of the staffers who possessed interim security clearances began working on the first day of the Trump administration in January 2017.

Those officials include a special assistant to Trump on national security affairs and the senior director for international cybersecurity on the National Security Council, according to CNN.

Politico reported Tuesday that the White House banned new interim security clearances late last year, but allowed current staffers with the temporary clearances to remain in their positions.

The reports come amid growing scrutiny over the White House’s response to domestic abuse allegations against Porter, who announced he was stepping down last week. Porter held an interim security clearance, leading many to question how his background check was handled.

Two other White House officials have resigned in recent weeks after being denied full security clearances.

Lawmakers have criticized the security clearance process and the White House’s handling of Porter, while the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday announced that they had launched an investigation into Porter’s security clearance.