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I've been curious about how security clearances work for politicians and political appointees.
When you apply for a job at the CIA, they do extensive screening and background checks and reject people for things like drug use that occurred decades ago and the process usually takes up to a year.
Now if you're a political appointee like lets say White House Chief of Staff, do you get the same security clearance without the red tape? Is the government going to deny the President's choice for White House Chief of Staff a security clearance for his previous drug use? I would imagine that they would not. I also imagine it doesn't take a year for them to screen him if they even screen him at all. How does that work?
Secondly if you're a senator and you sit on a committee like lets say Intelligence, you have access to sensitive information. Do these senators have to get a security clearance to see this information or are they entitled to see it by law?
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