House Oversight Committee to Launch Investigation Into Jared Kushner’s Security Clearance

House Democrats are planning to launch an investigation into Jared Kushner‘s White House security clearance process, NBC News reports.

According to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the House Oversight Committee will investigate President Donald Trump‘s son-in-law’s ability to gain access to highly classified information is a “national security” issue.

“The Committee on Oversight and Reform is launching an in-depth investigation of the security clearance process at the White House and Transition Team in response to grave breaches of national security at the highest levels of the Trump Administration,” wrote Cummings, the new Chairman of the committee, in a letter to the White House.

Cummings and his Democratic colleagues have promised to issue subpoenas if the Trump administration refuses to send over documents related to the security clearances of officials who worked on the Trump transition team and now the administration. Similar letters were sent to Vice President Mike Pence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of State, and the National Rifle Association.

“For the past two years, I have sought information with other Committee Members about a series of extremely troubling incidents regarding the security clearances of some of President Trump’s top aides, but the White House has refused to provide the information we requested, often ignoring our requests completely,” said Cummings.

NBC had reported earlier that Kushner’s security clearance had been downgraded back in February after it was found he hadn’t completely filled out his financial disclosure forms in his initial clearance request. Other targets of the Democrats’ investigation include former Trump aide Rob Porter, national security advisor John Bolton, former national security advisor Michael Flynn, and Trump chief of staff John Kelly.

On an MSNBC panel today, former Obama speechwriter David Litt suggested the severity of the impact this investigation will have on Trump officials could be similar to that of the Benghazi investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I think they should be worried about this investigation and all the others to follow,” said USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page said. “This is not going to be the last time, and it is not going to be the only committee in the House that will be pursuing the White House on a variety offish shoo of issues, some involving the President, some the Russia probe, some just agencies taking action for the last two years with little congressional overnight.”

You can watch above, via MSNBC.

[photo via Getty Images]