Ocasio-Cortez loses it over alleged Team Trump security clearances

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday called for an investigation into a whistleblower’s accusations that the Trump administration pushed through security clearances for staffers after they were denied.

“We are getting reports from press and from a wide variety of sources that indicate that … folks are suggesting that we are conducting foreign relations with folks with security clearances via WhatsApp,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Every day that we go on without getting to the bottom of this matter is a day that we are putting hundreds if not potentially thousands of Americans at risk,” the New York Democrat said during a House Oversight Committee hearing. “I mean, really, what is next, putting nuclear codes in Instagram DMs?!? This is ridiculous.”

She called for issuing subpoenas to the White House because the administration is not cooperating.

“Every day that there is an unsecured line of communication that could be leaked, that could be hacked, that could be screenshotted without our proper channels, is a day that we are putting our national security at risk,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding the committee must protect whistleblowers.

Tricia Newbold, a longtime government employee who oversaw security clearances for White House staffers, told the House committee that at least 25 aides, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, got clearances despite initially being turned down.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, head of the Oversight Committee, released Newbold’s list Monday.