Snowden trolls White House over security clearances

Edward Snowden on Monday needled the Trump administration amid renewed scrutiny over who in the White House has a full security clearance.

I got a security clearance faster than half of this White House. https://t.co/hYYWy6wHIe

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 12, 2018

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, disclosed classified information in 2013 about U.S. government surveillance programs. He resides in Moscow in exile, wanted on felony espionage charges in the United States. 

{mosads}CNN reported Friday that at least 30 officials and appointees in the Trump administration have been operating on interim security clearances, including Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. 

Intelligence officials told CNN that such a delay was unusual, but the White House said the backlog to receive a full clearance is normal due to the lengthy review process. 

The issue came back into focus after Rob Porter, White House staff secretary, resigned last week amid allegations he physically and emotionally abused his two ex-wives. Porter never obtained a full security clearance, but was in a position to handle classified information regardless.