WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House has directed the FBI to stop conducting background checks into dozens of U.S. President Donald Trump’s top staffers, and to transfer the process to the Pentagon, ABC News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report said the directive came last month after White House officials deemed the process – which involves interviews and a review of financial records, past employment, and other potential security risks – too intrusive.
“The FBI is relentlessly focused on our mission to rebuild trust, restore law and order and let good agents be good agents — and we have full confidence DOD (Department of Defense) can address any needs in the clearance process,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Reuters.
(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones and Steve Holland; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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