1. United States
2. Okla.
3. Letter

I’m asking Congress to investigate how Natalie Harp, one of President Trump’s closest White House aides, was reportedly allowed to work for more than a year without completing the routine security-clearance process expected of West Wing staff. According to recent reporting, Harp repeatedly declined to begin the process, despite serving as the President’s executive assistant and having extraordinary access to him. Concerns reportedly became serious enough that White House counsel and security officials raised the issue and President Trump eventually intervened. Harp has since reportedly received a clearance. This is an astonishing national-security failure. Harp is not a peripheral employee. She travels with the President, filters information reaching him, handles private communications, and has reportedly served as a point of contact for foreign leaders trying to reach him. She was even among the small group of aides moved with the President to a separate military aircraft during a recent security threat. How was someone with this level of proximity and access permitted to avoid the normal background-investigation process for more than a year? Congress should demand answers about what access Harp had during this period, what information she was exposed to, who authorized her continued access, what interim clearance she may have held, why the normal process was not completed, and whether existing security procedures were violated or circumvented. This should have nothing to do with political party. No president should be able to disregard basic national-security safeguards for a favored aide. Please investigate this matter and support legislation establishing enforceable security-clearance and vetting requirements for White House personnel with access to sensitive or classified information.