It's not a problem for President Donald Trump to have ordered a top security clearance for son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, but the problem is "he didn't tell the truth," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Friday.
"The president said in The New York Times 'I had nothing to do with it," Christie told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "Ivanka Trump said 'my father had nothing to do with my clearance and my husband's clearance.'"
But when the White House was confronted with memos written by former Chief of Staff John Kelly, it said "'we don't comment on security clearances,'" Christie said.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Trump ordered Kelly to grant Kushner with the top-level clearance, despite concerns from intelligence officials.
Part of the problem, Christie said, is in hiring family members for official positions, because it's hard to be objective.
But Trump could have just said he trusted Kushner and his daughter and believes them and given them a clearance because as president, he gets to decide.
"People get concerned about why you're playing around the edges," said Christie.
Christie on Friday also said he agreed with Trump walking away from negotiations with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un.
"The president believes when he gets into a room he can charm anyone but most of the time he is right but Kim Jong-un is a different character," said Christie. "I think it will take more pressure."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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