The President's crusade to grant clearances to his daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, rankled West Wing officials.
While Trump has the legal authority to grant clearances, most instances are left up to the White House personnel security office, which determines whether a staffer should be granted one after the FBI has conducted a background check. But after concerns were raised by the personnel office, Trump pushed Kelly and McGahn to make the decision on his daughter and son-in-law's clearances so it did not appear as if he was tainting the process to favor his family, sources told CNN. After both refused, Trump granted them their security clearances.
The development comes on the heels of
Thursday's New York Times report that President Trump ordered Kelly to grant Kushner a top secret security clearance despite concerns raised by intelligence officials. The President has denied he had any role in Kushner receiving a clearance.
The latest revelation also contradicts Ivanka Trump's denial to ABC News three weeks ago, when she said her father had "no involvement" regarding her or Kushner's clearances.
Several sources told CNN it is feasible that she was unaware of the red flags raised during her background check process, as well as the President's involvement in it. According to a source familiar with her process, she "did not seek, nor have, outside counsel involved in her process as no issues were ever raised." A separate person added that she was notified by career officials that her clearance had been granted.
