Politics
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks
Among the four appointees who lost their posts Tuesday was a one-time senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
By Carol D. Leonnig, Damian Paletta and Josh Dawsey
February 27 at 7:19 PM ET
Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny on administration officials working without permanent clearances.
The department determined that the four appointees — including one who worked for the agency for nearly a year and served for several months as a senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — should not be given access to classified information, according to multiple officials who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Commerce Department officials declined to comment on any terminations or resignations related to security clearance problems.
The Washington Post’s Shane Harris reports that officials in four countries discussed ways to manipulate Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)
In a statement, the department said it is “prohibited by the Privacy Act from discussing personal information about employees. The standard background and hiring practices are followed by the Department and, whenever concerns are raised during that process, the Department acts immediately.”
The Commerce Department departures comes as the White House has scrambled to answer why dozens of staffers — including senior adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law — still lack permanent security clearances. Kushner’s top-secret interim clearance was downgraded Friday.
The Commerce Department made the decision to oust the four appointees, according to a White House official.
Among the Commerce appointees who lost their jobs Tuesday was Fred Volcansek, who served as a senior adviser to Ross for several months last year. Since last April, he has worked as executive director of SelectUSA, a program that promotes foreign investment in the United States.
Volcansek, who served in the Commerce Department in the George H.W. Bush administration, is a former mayor of Clifton, Tex. He worked as an advance staffer organizing events for Trump’s campaign, according to his LinkedIn page.
Volcansek said in an interview that agency officials would not tell him why they were terminating him.
“What’s interesting is that my investigation went on for 13 months,” he said. “If they found something . . . why didn’t they bring it up before?”
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said on Feb. 13 that if administration officials only have preliminary security clearance, their access to sensitive intelligence information "has to be limited." (Reuters)
Three other Commerce appointees also left their posts after they were denied permanent security clearances: Chris Garcia, acting head of the department’s minority business development agency; Edgar Mkrtchian, senior adviser to the International Trade Administration; and Justin Arlett, adviser to the director for the Economic Development Administration, according to multiple officials.
Mkrtchian and Arlett declined to comment. Garcia said in a brief interview that he had been planning to leave the agency for several weeks and decided to resign on Tuesday.
In general, people can be denied a security clearance for a wide variety of reasons. Among the most common: withholding information from a government disclosure form, past criminal convictions, compromising contacts or being the subject of an investigation.
josh.dawsey@washpost.com
Alice Crites, Tom Hamburger and Nick Miroff contributed to this report.
Carol Leonnig is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post.
Damian Paletta is White House economic policy reporter for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, he covered the White House for the Wall Street Journal.
Josh Dawsey is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 2017. He previously covered the White House for Politico, and New York City Hall and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the Wall Street Journal.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks
Among the four appointees who lost their posts Tuesday was a one-time senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
By Carol D. Leonnig, Damian Paletta and Josh Dawsey
February 27 at 7:19 PM ET
Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny on administration officials working without permanent clearances.
The department determined that the four appointees — including one who worked for the agency for nearly a year and served for several months as a senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — should not be given access to classified information, according to multiple officials who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
Commerce Department officials declined to comment on any terminations or resignations related to security clearance problems.
The Washington Post’s Shane Harris reports that officials in four countries discussed ways to manipulate Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)
In a statement, the department said it is “prohibited by the Privacy Act from discussing personal information about employees. The standard background and hiring practices are followed by the Department and, whenever concerns are raised during that process, the Department acts immediately.”
The Commerce Department departures comes as the White House has scrambled to answer why dozens of staffers — including senior adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law — still lack permanent security clearances. Kushner’s top-secret interim clearance was downgraded Friday.
The Commerce Department made the decision to oust the four appointees, according to a White House official.
Among the Commerce appointees who lost their jobs Tuesday was Fred Volcansek, who served as a senior adviser to Ross for several months last year. Since last April, he has worked as executive director of SelectUSA, a program that promotes foreign investment in the United States.
Volcansek, who served in the Commerce Department in the George H.W. Bush administration, is a former mayor of Clifton, Tex. He worked as an advance staffer organizing events for Trump’s campaign, according to his LinkedIn page.
Volcansek said in an interview that agency officials would not tell him why they were terminating him.
“What’s interesting is that my investigation went on for 13 months,” he said. “If they found something . . . why didn’t they bring it up before?”
Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said on Feb. 13 that if administration officials only have preliminary security clearance, their access to sensitive intelligence information "has to be limited." (Reuters)
Three other Commerce appointees also left their posts after they were denied permanent security clearances: Chris Garcia, acting head of the department’s minority business development agency; Edgar Mkrtchian, senior adviser to the International Trade Administration; and Justin Arlett, adviser to the director for the Economic Development Administration, according to multiple officials.
Mkrtchian and Arlett declined to comment. Garcia said in a brief interview that he had been planning to leave the agency for several weeks and decided to resign on Tuesday.
In general, people can be denied a security clearance for a wide variety of reasons. Among the most common: withholding information from a government disclosure form, past criminal convictions, compromising contacts or being the subject of an investigation.
josh.dawsey@washpost.com
Alice Crites, Tom Hamburger and Nick Miroff contributed to this report.
Carol Leonnig is an investigative reporter at The Washington Post.
Damian Paletta is White House economic policy reporter for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, he covered the White House for the Wall Street Journal.
Josh Dawsey is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 2017. He previously covered the White House for Politico, and New York City Hall and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the Wall Street Journal.
Democracy Dies in Darkness
