mcgahn to grant ivanka trump a security clearance after he referenced the white house personnel security office made some objections about giving her a security clearance, so the president lobbied john kelly and don mcdann because he wanted them to grant her a clearance because he didn t want it to look as if he was tainting the process if he made the final decision. they had objections to granting her a security clearance, so in the end it was the president who granted ivanka trump a security clearance. this reporting would seem to contradict what ivanka trump told abc was that president trump had no involvement in her getting a security clearance or jared kushner getting a security clearance and it is contradicted by the latest new york times reporting. a source close to ivanka trump told us that it s feasible she didn t know that her father was involved and she didn t seek outside counsel trying to help her get that security clearance and it s raising questions about whether or
this also comes after the new york times reported that the president did the very same with his son-in-law jared kushner s security clearance, something ivanka trump has previously denied very directly to abc s abby huntsman. listen to this. the president had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband s clearance. so no special treatment? no. cnn s pamela brown has much more on this. pam, you and kaitlan collins broke this story overnight about ivanka. what happened here? we have learned that president trump demanded john kelly and don mcgahn to grant his daughter ivanka trump a security clearance against their recommendations. while the president, as you know, as a legal authority to grant clearances, most decisions about clearances are left up to the white house personnel security office. but after concerns were raised
good evening. we begin tonight with breaking news. you ll only see it here. cnn s pamela brown and kaitlan collins have just learned that president trump demanded a security clearance for his daughter ivanka over the objection of two top advisers, one of them retired four-star general. for the president, though, family came first. just as it reportedly did for his son-in-law jared kushner. special treatment by all appearances for both. cnn s pamela brown joins us now with details. so what have you learned? we ve learned president trump pressured his then chief of staff john kelly and white house counsel don mcgahn to grant his daughter and senior adviser ivanka trump a security clearance against the recommendations, this is according to three people familiar with the matter speaking to me and my colleague kaitlan collins. as you know, the president has the legal authority to grant clearances. but most instances are left up to the white house personnel security office, which would the
pardons with michael cohen after his office, his properties were raided in the aftermath of the last year. there was a discussion that occurred between michael cohen and the president that cohen would not discuss last week in his public testimony because it was under investigation, he said by the southern district of new york. those questions are still going to be fleshed out behind closed doors. cohen on his way in would not discuss any of this. i tried to ask about the documents he provided to the committee today. he would not talk about that, but he said he ll make a statement afterwards. let s see how long he s behind closed doors today. at the very same time the president is facing new questions after cnn has learned he pressured officials to grant his daughter and senior advisor ivanka trump security clearance against their objections.
he overlooked meetings he had with russians and that was a red flag. do we have any idea why they wouldn t want ivanka trump to have clearance? we don t. she has her own business ties, foreign ties because of the business she was running. they are also a married couple. sometimes what happens with a spouse ends up impacting the other half of the couple in terms of clearance. i don t want to suggest i know more than i do. there are open questions as to why officials raised questions. on the jared kushner issue we should note there was a split in the personnel security office as to whether he should get one. some officials thought he should. some thought he shouldn t. don mcgahn went with what he told people at the time was an abundance of caution that jared kushner should not get it. again, this was always going to become it was inevitably going to become an issue. it is important to note, too, at the time jared kushner s clearance was granted and at the time his lawyer spoke public