Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks

The following article by Carol D. Leonnig, Damian Paletta and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Washington Post website February 27, 2018:

Among the four appointees who lost their posts Tuesday was a one-time senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny on administration officials working without permanent clearances.

The department determined that the four appointees — including one who worked for the agency for nearly a year and served for several months as a senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — should not be given access to classified information, according to multiple officials who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Continue reading “Four Commerce Department appointees lose their posts after problems in background checks”