'Highly unusual': White House halts FBI background checks for senior staff, shifts them to Pentagon

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-orders-halt-fbi-background-checks-senior/story?id=119735530

The White House has quietly directed the FBI to halt the background check process for dozens of President Donald Trump's top staffers, and has transferred the process to the Pentagon, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The directive came last month after agents tasked with completing the background investigations had conducted interviews with a handful of top White House aides -- a standard part of the background check process.

White House officials took the unusual step of ordering a stop to the background check investigations after they deemed the process too intrusive, sources said.

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The procedure typically involves extensive interviews as well as a review of financial records, foreign contacts, past employment, and any potential security risks.

The White House instead decided to transfer the background check process for White House personnel to the Department of Defense for them to complete the checks, the sources said.

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