Carl Kline (White House official)


Carl Kline is a former U.S. White House official who was a director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office during the administration of President Donald Trump beginning in May 2017. Prior to working for the White House, Kline was the Chief of Personnel Security for Security Policy and Oversight Directorate at the Department of Defense.
Multiple sources stated in January 2019 that in at least 30 cases where professional security experts expressed concerns about granting top-secret clearance to specific Trump officials including Jared Kushner, Kline had overruled their concerns. In Kushner's case, Kline was carrying out Trump's instructions. White House security experts had been overruled only once during the three years preceding the Trump administration.
Also in January 2019, one of Kline's staff members, Tricia Newbold, said Kline retaliated against her for raising concerns about security clearance practices and for discriminating against her on the basis of her height.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed Kline, who was at that time working for the Defense Department, to appear before the Committee for an interview on April 23. However White House deputy counsel Michael Purpura instructed Kline not to appear at the deposition, citing constitutional concerns. Kline eventually had a private meeting with the committee on May 1. He reportedly told the committee that he made all the decisions about security clearances himself and that no one in the White House instructed him or tried to influence him.