The Trump Advisor Who Had To Resign Over Smoking Pot (HBO)
February 16, 2018
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2:37Now PlayingThe Trump Advisor Who Had To Resign Over Smoking Pot (HBO)
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WASHINGTON — When George David Banks went to work in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex Tuesday morning, he wasn’t thinking about his security clearance. He was thinking about the climate policy that he’d been shaping for the Trump administration since February of 2017.
By the end of the day, his email had been shut off and a member of the White House counsel’s office was explaining that his time in the administration had come to an end — because he had disclosed on a security form that he’d “smoked a little pot” between 2010 and 2013.
NBC reported well over 100 current White House staffers have been working under interim security clearances, and Banks was one of them. On Tuesday, he was told he couldn’t get permanent clearance because of past drug use, and so Banks, nearing 50, was fired. He said he was also encouraged to apply for another job in the Trump White House that doesn’t require security clearance.
His dismissal came as the White House attempts to vet the backgrounds of staffers in the wake of the scandal surrounding former Staff Secretary Rob Porter. Porter resigned last week after allegations surfaced that he’d physically abused two former wives. Banks decided to discuss his situation with VICE News because he doesn’t want anyone to associate the reason for his departure with Porters’.
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