By Amy Russo
The HuffPost (4/21/19)
Tricia Newbold, a White House security specialist turned whistleblower, spoke out in her first televised interview since coming forward to raise major concerns over the Trump administration’s allegedly lax handling of security clearances.
“The protection of national security is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue; it’s an American issue, and we as security professionals owe it to make all our recommendations in the best interest of national security,” she said to NBC’s Peter Alexander in an interview that aired Tuesday.
On Monday, the House oversight committee revealed that Newbold had approached Congress to warn that she and her colleagues had recommended denials of 25 applications for clearances only to have their decisions overturned.
According to a letter from committee chair Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel to President Donald Trump, Newbold said the applications “were not always adjudicated in the best interest of national security.”
Now Newbold says she’s afraid of losing her job, having worked in the White House for 18 years.
“I am always concerned, but it’s important that we stand up to do the right thing no matter what,” she told Alexander.
Cummings said Newbold spoke out in the hopes that lawmakers would take action to shore up national security. He has since vowed to protect her.
The committee is subpoenaing Carl Klein, who was the White House personnel security director during the first half of Trump’s term and now works in the Defense Department. …
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- ‘Who are these people?’ MSNBC Panel Shames ‘sociopathic’ White House Staffers For Mocking Whistleblower’s Physical Disability — White House employee says she faced retaliation after blowing the whistle on Trump administration efforts to grant security clearances over the objections of national security professionals — and MSNBC panelists were shocked and dismayed by the response. Tricia Newbold, a White House security specialist, said she endured “humiliating” treatment aimed at her dwarfism from her supervisor and colleagues after testifying about security clearances before Congress, and “Morning Joe” panelists were disgusted. “Who are these people?” said analyst Mike Barnicle. “Who are they? How were they raised?” MSNBC contributor Elise Jordan, who worked in the Bush White House as a speechwriter, blamed President Donald Trump for the cruelty shown to the staffer. … Read the Rest and 6-Minute Video