Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) raised questions on Sunday about whether President Trump’s recently selected national security adviser, John Bolton, can obtain a full security clearance.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) raised questions on Sunday about whether President Trump ‘s recently selected national security adviser, John Bolton, can obtain a full security clearance.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Kaine expressed concern at what he suggested were Bolton’s “contacts with foreign governments,” notably in Russia, pointing to a 2013 video for a Russian gun rights group in which Bolton appeared.
“These kinds of contacts raise real questions in my mind about whether he could get a full security clearance or not,” Kaine said.
“Even though the Senate doesn’t get a vote to confirm the national security adviser, I have many, many questions, not only about John Bolton’s philosophy, but about these contacts with Russia,” he added.
Bolton appeared in a video for the Russian gun rights group The Right to Bear Arms in 2013. That group was established by Russian politician Alexander Torshin, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
That video was reported on Thursday by NPR .
Kaine’s comments come amid questions about the clearances of other Trump administration officials.
It was revealed last month that dozens of White House officials lacked full security clearances, and had been working for months on interim authorizations, prompting a crackdown by White House chief of staff John Kelly .
Still, Bolton has worked in the federal government before, having served both the State Department and Justice Department in multiple Republican presidential administrations.
