Caricature by DonkeyHotey flic.kr/p/Ct4G4K https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

For the past year and a half, I’ve been told over and over by people who have never possessed a security clearance why presidential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, couldn’t get a security clearance. Not only was Russia not his friend but every other nation he dealt with had stopped being friends, too. Getting a high-level security clearance as an entry-level clearance can be tough. It is particularly tough on people coming in from the private sector if they were involved in venture capital or had overseas connections. This was compounded by Kushner apparently thinking that the clearance form, the SF-86, was something he could have an intern do. Pro Tip: if your literal eligibility for a job depends on what is written on a form, it’s a good idea to do it yourself.

Of course, Kushner’s use of an interim clearance was taken as proof of some underlying lawlessness in the Trump administration particularly after several staffers were fired because it looked like they would be ineligible for clearances.

Now our long national nightmare is over.

Via the New York Times:

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, has been granted his permanent security clearance, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday, ending a period of uncertainty that had fueled questions about whether Mr. Kushner was in peril in the special counsel investigation.

Mr. Kushner’s F.B.I. background checks had dragged on for a year. White House officials were adamant that the lengthy process was not unusual for a government official who has a complicated financial history and many foreign contacts. But the delay became a distraction and, with the special counsel investigating some of Mr. Kushner’s meetings with Russian officials, it left open the question of whether investigators had uncovered evidence that made him a security threat.

That was not the case, the person said, adding that Mr. Kushner’s clearances were approved by career officials after the completion of the F.B.I. background check and that the president was not involved in the process.

The same people obsessing about Kushner’s clearance can now use that valuable time to worry about Ivanka’s earrings or something really important.