Top White House Official Under Fire Over Denial of Security Clearance

Lawmakers and congressional insiders continue to raise questions about a senior Obama administration official and proponent of its Iran diplomacy following revelations he was denied interim security clearance before being given a senior role in the White House, according to conversations with multiple sources.

The Washington Free Beacon first disclosed last week that Ben Rhodes, a White House deputy national security adviser who handled the administration’s efforts to mislead the public about the terms of the Iran nuclear agreement, is being probed by Congress following disclosures the FBI may have denied him top-level security clearances.

Lawmakers told the Free Beacon that the Obama administration has been obstructing formal efforts to obtain information about why Rhodes was initially denied FBI clearance and how he ultimately received top-secret clearances.

The latest disclosures have cast a cloud over the Obama administration’s diplomacy with Iran just weeks before the president and his senior officials vacate their West Wing offices ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

More