Trump's son-in-law gets back top secret security clearance
Washington, May 24: Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump and one of his closest advisers, received a permanent security clearance on Wednesday, dispelling doubts about his possible recent loss of clout in US relations with Mexico, China and Israel.
The FBI completed its thorough investigation of Kushner's financial activities and foreign contacts, a task taking more than a year and which had to be finalized before the husband of Trump's oldest child Ivanka could re-obtain permission to access the most closely guarded US secrets, Efe reported.
"His application (for security clearance renewal) was properly submitted, reviewed by career officials, and went through the normal process," Kushner's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement.
"Having completed these processes, Mr. Kushner is looking forward to continuing the work the President has asked him to do."
Lowell did not say what level of clearance Kushner had been granted, but sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that it is a "top secret" authorization, which would enable the young real estate mogul to view very sensitive US government intelligence information.
Last February, Kushner lost the temporary top secret clearance he had enjoyed since Trump came into power in January 2017, and his access to sensitive intelligence information was curtailed, although he did retain a lower clearance level, that of "secret".
That move was the result of a decision by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to withdraw the temporary top secret clearances from those employees who had held them for more than eight months without the required background investigations on them having been completed.
In Kushner's case, the delay in the FBI investigation of his background combined with the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his contacts with Russian officials raised speculation about whether he could be subject to blackmail, a situation that could put the confidential information he might know at risk.
The White House said in February that Kushner's loss of top secret clearance would not affect his diplomatic activities, and apparently it has not done so.
Kushner has been intimately involved in US negotiations to recraft the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, and last week he travelled to Israel to inaugurate the new US Embassy in Jerusalem.
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Congress must talk about status of INDIA bloc, says Shiv Sena (UBT)
Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI): The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday said the Congress must talk about the status of the INDIA bloc and should have addressed questions about the opposition alliance in the party's recent meeting in Ahmedabad.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena (UBT) pointed out that the Congress only spoke about itself in the Ahmedabad meet, and INDIA or Bharat was nowhere in the discussion.
"Questions are being raised about where the INDIA bloc stands after the Lok Sabha election. The Congress needed to address this in its Ahmedabad session," the editorial said.
"What happened to the alliance? Did it get buried in the ground or vanish into thin air? The responsibility to answer this question lies with the Congress president," it said.
The Congress held its session on April 8-9 in Gujarat, where it has been out of power for two decades. Senior Congress leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, addressed party workers.
The Sena (UBT) also sought to know the Congress's stand for the Bihar, Gujarat and West Bengal state polls. "Or will the party again welcome defeat?" it asked.
In Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal is a senior partner, while in Gujarat and West Bengal, INDIA partners, the Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress, will also be in the fray.
"The Congress held its session in Gujarat but this did not yield any success in the state in the Lok Sabha polls, as the party won one seat in the western state after 2014," the Sena UBT said.
It said the Congress needs to make efforts in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. While the party met with success in Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha polls, it suffered a humiliating defeat in the state assembly polls.
"The scams of the BJP are as much responsible for this loss as the internal issues of the Congress. It has to deliberate on this," the editorial added.
The Congress has to take the lead in fighting dictatorship, the Sena (UBT) said.
Referring to the Delhi assembly polls, where the AAP and Congress faced defeat, the Sena (UBT) said some Congress leaders thought the road was clear for the party in the national capital.
If Congress uses this strategy of contesting against the INDIA bloc partners in other states, it will only help the BJP, it said.
"We have to defeat the BJP and not our friends," the party said.
The Sena UBT said an alliance between the Congress and AAP would have proved beneficial.
