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Jared Kushner just lost his unfettered access to top secret info

He had been operating on an interim clearance since Day One.

Jared Kushner lost his top-secret security clearance on Friday, Politico reports, in a move that was telegraphed last week by White House chief of staff John Kelly.

The president’s son-in-law and close adviser had been doing his job on an interim top-secret security clearance for more than a year — until Friday, when his access was downgraded. He’s not alone: All of the White House staffers who had been granted that level of interim access to government information also had their security privileges downgraded, according to Politico.

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The large number of White House advisers operating on an interim security clearance came to light after former Staff Secretary Rob Porter was accused of domestic abuse, allegations that were unearthed during his screening for security clearance, and which the White House knew or should have known about months ago. The allegations also prevented Porter from obtaining full security clearance, though he was responsible for reading anything that made it to the president’s desk.

According to the New York Times, dozens of White House staffers were granted unrestricted access to top secret information, despite lacking permanent security clearances.

White House staffers were quietly concerned about Kushner’s vulnerability to manipulation by foreign governments, the Washington Post also reported on Tuesday. Officials from four different countries — China, Mexico, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates — had reportedly discussed ways that Kushner could be plied by taking advantage of his complex international business interests, according to the Post, which spoke to current and former intelligence officials who had reviewed the U.S. intelligence reports on the matter.

It’s not clear whether those governments have actually tried to leverage Kushner’s business interests to influence him.

Last week, on the same day that Kushner lost his access, Trump told reporters that he would let Kelly decide Kushner's fate.

“I will let General Kelly make that decision,” Trump told reporters Friday. “I have no doubt he’ll make the right decision.”

Kushner’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, insists that Kushner will still be able to do his job. “The new policy announced by General Kelly will not affect Mr. Kushner's ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president,” Lowell said, according to Axios.

Kushner has had an amorphous role in the West Wing, tackling technological issues within the administration and advising on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Since late last year, though, his role appears to have shrunk, with Kushner staying out of the public eye and focusing primarily on foreign policy–related duties. He’s not been paid for his work, according to records released by the White House in June, though his assistant Avi Berkowitz, is paid $115,000, more than any other White House assistant.