Raskin wants guarantee of FBI background checks for Trump nominees

Rep. Jamie Raskin wants information from the Trump-Vance transition team on how President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees will undergo FBI background checks.

In a letter to transition team co-chairs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon on Friday, Mr. Raskin, Maryland Democrat, wrote that while Mr. Trump’s transition team reached an agreement with the FBI to conduct background checks, “it remains unclear whether the transition will require nominees to submit to them.” 

The Trump-Vance transition team signed an agreement this month with the Justice Department to submit nominees for background checks. Yet Mr. Raskin wrote that some nominees were refusing to undergo such reviews before the president-elect takes office and that the transition team was reportedly turning to private companies to get nominees security clearances “without any of the standard vetting.”

“Given this muddled record, I urge you to clearly and unequivocally commit to requiring that all nominees undergo FBI background checks and submit to vetting before receiving access to classified information,” Mr. Raskin wrote. 

The lawmaker pointed to statements from Senate Republicans who also urged the transition team to stick with precedent and have nominees and appointees undergo background checks. He warned of “many shortcomings” while vetting through private companies. 

Mr. Raskin requested that the transition team provide the House Oversight Committee with any contracts with private companies for background checks and vetting by Dec. 20. 

Also in his letter, he referred to Boris Epshteyn, who reportedly engaged in a pay-for-play scheme to advocate for potential nominees to Mr. Trump. Mr. Raskin requested that the transition team hand over all documents related to any reviews of the Republican political strategist’s conduct. 

“This is precisely the type of permissive environment in which individuals with undisclosed and unvetted security vulnerabilities can engage in nefarious conduct that could risk American security,” the congressman wrote.