Allahpundit recently called him the world’s most powerful man. (If a strangely silent one for some reason.) Depending on how you sort through the mountain of White House announcements, press releases, nameless sources and wild-eyed speculation, he may control up to half of the government. He’s Jared Kushner, a guy leading a fairly charmed life at the moment from the looks of things.

But Congressman Elijah Cummings has some questions about young Jared. And the biggest one he’d like addressed pronto is why Kushner still has a security clearance if everyone is so sure that he’s plotting with Vladimir Putin to take over the world… or whatever it is they’re supposed to be doing. (Politico)

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, wants the White House to explain why senior adviser Jared Kushner still has a security clearance despite reports he failed to disclose meetings with Russian officials and businessmen.

Cummings sent a letter signed by all the Democrats on his committee to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Wednesday requesting documents by July 5, including Kushner’s security clearance application and records of his contacts with Russians.

Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, omitted dozens of contacts with foreign leaders on his security clearance application, The New York Times reported in April, even though the application asks for a list of all encounters with foreign government officials over the past seven years.

I’m not entirely sure what Cummings thinks he’s going to get out of this line of attack, particularly when you consider which branch of the government is responsible for issuing clearances. I wouldn’t expect any action on that complaint unless and until somebody can offer up some marginally plausible proof that Kushner is guilty of something more than forgetting to fill out a few lines on a form or suggesting that maybe the President ought to be able to get hold of Putin on short notice.

But who knows? Take your best shot, Congressman. And while we’re on the subject of clearances, I wonder if Cummings happened to run across this story at Fox News from Tuesday.

The State Department has opened a formal inquiry into whether former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her aides mishandled classified information while she was the nation’s top diplomat, Fox News has learned. Despite being under investigation, Clinton and her staffers still have security clearances to access sensitive government information.

The department’s investigation aims to determine whether Clinton and her closest aides violated government protocols by using her private server to receive, hold and transmit classified and top-secret government documents.

Wait a minute… Hillary Clinton still has her top level security clearance? For what? She’s a private citizen who spends her time strolling through the woods when she’s not giving incendiary speeches for huge piles of cash. What does she need a clearance for? At least Kushner is actively working in the Executive Branch and strolling in and out of the Oval Office regularly.

Maybe Cummings could look into that one while he’s at it.