Jared Kushner, son-in-law of and adviser to President Donald Trump, lost his interim top secret security clearance, putting him below a number of other White House officials. Among them is the calligrapher.
White House chief calligrapher Patricia Blair is among those with the top-secret clearance that Kushner lost, CNN reported. One of Blair’s predecessors told the network that the job didn’t involve access to intelligence, but required knowledge of the president’s schedule as calligraphers write documents such as certificates and invitations.
“As calligraphers, we feel like we’re playing an integral role. The invitation sets the stage for the whole event,” Rick Paulus, who served Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, told CNN. “Calligraphers are helping, simply, to set the stage for diplomacy.”
Kushner and more than three dozen other White House officials saw their clearances downgraded from “Top Secret/SCI” (sensitive compartmented information) to “Secret” last week until their background checks are concluded.
“[Kushner is] a valued member of the team and he will continue to do the important work that he’s been doing since he’s started in the administration,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, per Politico.
(h/t Mediaite)
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