President Donald Trump’s National Security adviser H.R. McMaster allowed former President Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice to maintain her security clearance to access classified information — despite reservations Trump had about her motives.
McMaster sent an official letter to Rice informing her that she would maintain unfettered access to classified information, according to a report from Circa’s Sara Carter.
The president was not aware of his actions, according to two senior White House officials and an intelligence official.
The letter H.R. McMaster sent to Susan Rice about keeping her security clearance via @SaraCarterDC https://t.co/ueMzx6Tonj pic.twitter.com/Jcf5r1zrcS
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) August 3, 2017
One official questioned Rice’s access despite an ongoing investigation into her activities in reportedly unmasking Trump officials’ conversations with Russia during the presidential transition.
As Bloomberg’s Eli Lake reported, McMaster also concluded that Rice did nothing wrong by unmasking Trump transition officials.
Rice celebrated the exit of former national security advisor Michael Flynn and welcomed Trump’s decision to hire McMaster.
“Congrats to Lt Gen McMaster. I wish you every success as National Security Advisor,” she wrote on Twitter. “Hope you will be able to choose your team, have direct reporting and daily access to POTUS, and can eliminate Strategic Initiatives Group.”
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