Trump team skips FBI background checks for some Cabinet nominees

() – President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet nominees while using private companies to screen potential applicants for administration jobs, according to people close to the administration. transition planning.

Trump and his allies believe the FBI system is slow and plagued with problems that could hinder the president-elect’s plan to quickly begin implementing his agenda, people briefed on the plans said. Critics say intrusive background checks sometimes reveal compromising information that is used to inflict political damage.

The discussions come as Trump has proposed several controversial choices for top positions in the US government, including Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Tulsi Gabbard as director of National Intelligence.

Ultimately, the president has final authority over who he nominates and with whom he decides to share intelligence information, regardless of the protocol established after World War II to ensure that those selections do not have unknown foreign ties or other problems that could raise national security concerns.

But bypassing background checks would be defying a long-established norm in Washington. It also reflects Trump’s deep distrust of the national security establishment, which he dismisses as the “deep state.” Sources say he has privately questioned the need for background checks by law enforcement.

Dan Meyer, a national security lawyer in Washington, said the incoming Trump administration “doesn’t want harmony.” “They don’t want the FBI to coordinate a rule; “They want to break the norm,” he declared.

Some of Trump’s advisers began circulating a memo before the election, urging him to bypass the traditional background check process for some of his appointments, a source briefed on the memo told . Instead of using law enforcement, the memo proposed hiring private investigators who could move more quickly to conduct background checks.

However, the president-elect could always decide, eventually, to send names to the FBI.

Some of Trump’s picks for roles in his administration could face problems during a background check, raising potential obstacles during the confirmation process.

Gaetz has been immersed for years in investigations by the Department of Justice and the House Ethics Committee related to sex trafficking. The Justice Department declined to charge Gaetz, and the House ethics committee’s investigation, days away from concluding, was terminated when the Florida congressman resigned his seat this week. Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Gabbard, for her part, has frequently adopted stances more favorable to foreign leaders seen not only as adversaries of the United States but, in some cases, brutal dictators, such as the presidents of Syria and Russia, raising questions among allies and politicians alike. critics.

On time, Gabbard met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in 2017, and said in 2019 that he “was not an enemy of the United States.”

In early 2022, he echoed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for his country’s invasion of Ukraine, placing the blame not on Moscow but on the Biden administration’s failure to recognize “legitimate concerns.” “Russia’s security policy regarding Ukraine’s entry into NATO,” a popular school of thought in some right-wing circles.

In addition to the confirmation process, FBI background checks are used to vet those chosen for a security clearance, which is a requirement for a candidate for U.S. attorney general to serve in the position.

As president, Trump could bypass the process and order Gaetz to be granted a security clearance, as he did in his first term to grant a clearance to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner after approval stalled amid questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Trump ordered clearances be granted to about 25 people whose applications were initially denied over potential national security concerns, previously reported.

If Gaetz does not participate in the evaluation process, the FBI could still attempt to conduct a basic investigation at the request of the Senate. But a source familiar with the process noted that it is difficult to collect some data without their consent.

US officials are still waiting for Trump’s transition team to submit a list of names, including those considered for Cabinet-level roles, to be formally evaluated for security clearances, the source said.

To date, Trump’s team has resisted participating in the formal transition process, which includes signing memoranda of understanding and confidentiality agreements that are generally considered a prerequisite for accessing classified material before the new administration takes office. post.

Instead, Trump’s transition team has focused on conducting its own internal evaluation of candidates for key top administration positions.

The delay in evaluating candidates for security clearances also affects the timing of classified briefings for incoming administration officials, according to the source familiar with the process.

While Trump will have the authority to override any screening concerns and grant access to sensitive material once he takes office, he will not be able to do so until he is sworn in on January 20. Therefore, if Trump’s team continues to circumvent the evaluation process, those selected for key roles would not be able to receive briefings until then.

The Trump team’s lack of urgency around pre-screening individuals for national security positions is not surprising and is consistent with how it handled the transition process after the 2016 election, the source said. Trump’s team was “ill-prepared” to take office in 2017, so the current lack of interest in participating in the evaluation process is “to be expected, perhaps,” the source added.

Introducing individuals who already have access to classified material or who were previously vetted could help advance the process, while for those without U.S. Government experience it will take some more time. Trump’s choice of Rep. Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor is a case in point.