2026-06-05T10:00:07.895Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/pulte-intelligence-chief-security-clearance
据三位知情人士透露，在唐纳德·特朗普总统宣布提名比尔·普尔蒂领导美国情报界之前，普尔蒂并未拥有可接触高度机密信息的安全许可——这意味着他缺乏长期以来被视为该职位的基本任职前提。
其中一位消息人士告诉CNN，特朗普于本周宣布普尔蒂将担任国家情报总监代理一职数日后，美国国家情报总监办公室（也就是他预计将临时领导的机构）已于周四启动了安全许可审查流程，提出开展背景调查。
普尔蒂是一位富商，已于去年获参议院确认担任联邦住房金融局局长。鉴于他缺乏已证实的国家安全事务经验，他的提名本就显得不同寻常。但有证据显示，在本周被特朗普提名为最高情报官员之前，普尔蒂无法接触机密材料，这进一步凸显了他与历任国家情报总监相比，资质有多不符合常规。
“国家情报总监有权接触我们所有最高级别的机密情报，”参议院情报委员会最高民主党议员马克·华纳对CNN表示。
目前没有证据表明普尔蒂“会尊重这些保密分级”，华纳说道。
消息人士告诉CNN，没有证据显示普尔蒂在被提名为代理国家情报总监之前，哪怕持有最低级别的安全许可。
安全许可分为多个级别，从“保密”到“绝密”不等。最敏感的材料涉密等级高于“绝密”，属于所谓的“隔离访问项目”，通常要求严格的“按需知情”原则和额外的背景审查。
另外两位消息人士称，普尔蒂此前也未接受过潜在安全漏洞审查，而这一流程通常是获取高级别安全许可的必要条件，对于担任代理国家情报总监这类高级情报界职位的人员来说更是至关重要。
“没有，”当被问及特朗普宣布提名前普尔蒂是否接受过安全许可相关审查时，其中一位消息人士如此回答，并补充道，周四提出的背景调查请求是该流程的第一步。
目前尚不清楚普尔蒂是否还会接受测谎测试。多位消息人士此前曾告诉CNN，测谎是接入美国情报界机密网络的严格要求，但对于被挑选领导这些机构的高级别总统任命官员而言，测谎并非总是强制性要求。
消息人士称，尽管如此，外界普遍预计特朗普将在普尔蒂下月正式就任代理国家情报总监一职前，授予其接触机密信息的权限，而且特朗普可能会以某种方式让他绕过这些审查要求，至少在短期内如此。
周四，当被问及普尔蒂是否是该职位的合适人选时，特朗普似乎对两党对普尔蒂缺乏国家安全经验的担忧不以为然。
“我在国家安全方面也没什么丰富经验，但我认为我在这方面做得非常出色，”特朗普在被问及普尔蒂的任职资格时对记者说道。“他非常聪明，人品正直，工作表现极其出色……他可能会发现一些关于选举被操纵的真相。”
特朗普还强调，普尔蒂只会临时担任该职位。“这是一个代理职位，不是永久的——他不会长期留任。”
周五清晨，参议院民主党人投票阻止审议一项旨在重新授权《外国情报监控法》第702条的无 warrant 监控法案，此前他们表示因普尔蒂的任命而不会支持该法案。七名参议院共和党议员与民主党人投了相同的票。
一位政府官员表示，普尔蒂要等到图尔西·加巴德正式离任该职位后，才会在下月上任。
目前尚不清楚普尔蒂迄今为止有过任何处理机密信息或与情报界打交道的经验——尽管他此前没有安全许可，这意味着即便有相关经验也极为有限。
一位熟悉该流程的消息人士此前告诉CNN，从未接触过机密信息的官员通常不会被授予临时安全许可，除非至少先审查过一份记录个人信息和其他基本信息的政府表格。
CNN拨打了与普尔蒂相关联的电话号码，接电话的人挂断了电话。该人士未回复CNN请求置评的短信。
联邦住房金融局在CNN多次置评请求后，未就此次报道提供任何回应。CNN已向白宫和国家情报总监办公室置评请求。
普尔蒂在获提名前未拥有安全许可一事，凸显了他此次任命的非常规性——他将担任美国情报界顶端极其敏感的职位，批评人士担心特朗普任命他是为了推进总统的报复议程。
在联邦住房金融局的办公室里，普尔蒂发挥了非同寻常的作用，推动司法部对总统的个人政敌提起一些最引人注目的诉讼。
多位熟悉该任命决定的消息人士告诉CNN，此次提名的理由很简单：特朗普喜欢普尔蒂的表现，并认为他有可能在国家情报总监的职位上复制这一表现。
普尔蒂的任命在国家安全专业人士和国会两党议员中引发了震惊。该职位是在9/11事件后设立的，负责监督构成情报界的18个机构，其设立初衷是避免再次发生情报机构互不共享信息的灾难性情报失误。
议员们已经开始担忧普尔蒂在接触美国最严密保护的机密后可能采取的行动。
“我们不需要一个被武器化的国家情报总监，我们需要专业人士担任这一职位，”参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩在被问及普尔蒂的任命时说道。“我也是刚听说此事，我会努力了解更多关于他们目前对该职位的想法的信息。”
“我们甚至不知道普尔蒂是否拥有安全许可，”华纳对CNN表示。
即便如此，一位消息人士告诉CNN，参议院情报委员会一直在试图查明普尔蒂拥有何种安全许可（如果有的话），但迄今为止并未取得进展。
在周三的参议院听证会上，华纳询问财政部长斯科特·贝森特，普尔蒂是否拥有安全许可。贝森特表示他不知情。
所有三位消息人士都告诉CNN，没有证据表明普尔蒂目前拥有安全许可，或此前曾接触过机密信息。但这些消息人士也承认，有可能他已经在未经过快速审查的情况下获得了安全许可。
特朗普长期以来一直抱怨安全许可流程，在他的第一任期内，他曾下令为二十多人授予安全许可，包括他的女婿贾里德·库什纳和女儿伊万卡——据国会证词显示，这两人在完成安全许可流程时曾遇到困难。
但即便如此，考虑到代理国家情报总监的职责范围，以及消息人士所述特朗普选择普尔蒂担任该职位的理由，普尔蒂的情况仍是独一无二的。
在他的第二任期伊始，特朗普为尚未完成常规审查流程的新一届白宫官员授予了为期六个月的临时安全许可，他将此归咎于他所加剧的背景审查积压问题。
CNN此前曾报道，特朗普发布了一项行政命令，直接为新一届官员授予被称为“TS/SCI”的高级别安全许可，其中包括一些从未接受过潜在安全漏洞审查的人员。
当时，政府内外的国家安全律师都表示，这一举措即便不是前所未有，也是不同寻常的。
当时一位曾在拜登政府和特朗普第一任期内负责安全许可事务的前美国官员发出警告，美国依赖其获取大量情报的外国情报合作伙伴，可能会减少与美国的情报共享，因为他们担心己方的线人会陷入危险。
“他们会开始限制情报共享，”该官员说道。“如果对方有人未经过审查，他们为什么要分享情报呢？”
如果允许普尔蒂同样绕过这些审查要求，考虑到他新职位是监督整个美国情报界，以及随之而来的接触机密信息的权限，这可能会更加令人担忧。
前高级情报官员贝丝·桑纳表示，她不认为普尔蒂的任命会改善机构间的情报共享。
“在我看来，普尔蒂是一个会引发分歧的人物。中情局可能不愿与一个没有情报背景的人分享信息，”桑纳在接受CNN记者布丽安娜·凯拉尔采访时说道。
本文已补充更多信息后更新。
CNN的肖恩·林格斯和杰里米·赫布参与了报道。
Trump’s pick to lead US intel community did not have a security clearance before he was tapped for the job, sources say
2026-06-05T10:00:07.895Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/pulte-intelligence-chief-security-clearance
Before he was announced as President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US intelligence community, Bill Pulte did not have a security clearance granting him access to highly-classified information – meaning he lacked what has long been considered a basic prerequisite for the job he will soon occupy, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, days after Trump’s announcement that Pulte would serve as acting director of national intelligence, the office he is expected to lead – at least temporarily – initiated the vetting process for his security clearance by requesting a background investigation, one of the sources told CNN.
Pulte — a wealthy businessman who was confirmed as Federal Housing Finance Agency director last year— already appeared to be an unusual choice for acting DNI given his lack of demonstrated experience in national security matters. But evidence that Pulte did not have access to classified material before he was announced as Trump’s top intelligence official this week underscores just how atypical his credentials are compared to nearly every other DNI that came before him.
“The director of national intelligence has access to all of our most classified intelligence,” Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, told CNN.
There is no evidence that Pulte “would respect those classifications,” Warner said.
Sources told CNN there is no evidence that Pulte previously maintained even the lowest form of security clearance before he was tapped as acting DNI.
There are different levels of clearance – ranging from confidential to Top Secret. The most sensitive materials are classified beyond Top Secret – in what are known as compartmentalized access programs that typically require a strict “need-to-know” and additional background screenings.
Pulte also had not been previously vetted for potential security vulnerabilities, a process typically required to obtain a higher-level security clearance, and, critically, for those serving in senior intelligence community roles like acting DNI, according to two of the sources.
“None,” one of the sources said about whether Pulte had gone through any vetting for a security clearance prior to Trump’s announcement, adding that Thursday’s request for a background investigation was the first step in that process.
It is unclear if Pulte has committed to also taking a polygraph test. A polygraph is a stringent requirement for access to the US intelligence community’s classified network, multiple sources previously told CNN, but are not always mandatory for high-ranking, presidential-appointees picked to lead those agencies.
Still, Trump is widely expected to grant Pulte access to classified information before he formally steps into the acting DNI role next month, the sources said, and could do so in a way that would effectively allow him to bypass those vetting requirements, at least in the short term.
Trump appeared to dismiss bipartisan concerns about Pulte’s lack of national security experience when asked if he was the right person for the job on Thursday.
“I wasn’t greatly experienced in national security, and I think I’ve done a really great job with it,” Trump told reporters when asked about Pulte’s qualifications for the role. “He’s very smart. He’s a person who’s got high integrity. He’s done a phenomenal job … He may find out some things about the rigged elections.”
Trump also emphasized that Pulte would only be in the role temporarily. “It’s an acting position, it’s not a permanent – he’s not going to be permanent.”
Early Friday morning, Senate Democrats voted to block consideration of a bill to reauthorize the warrantless surveillance law known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act after saying they would not support it over Pulte’s appointment. Seven Senate Republicans voted with the Democrats.
An administration official said Pulte won’t start in the role until next month when Tulsi Gabbard formally leaves the role.
It is not clear what, if any experience Pulte has dealing with classified information or engaging with the intelligence community to date – though his prior lack of a security clearance suggests it would have been limited at best.
Officials who have never had access to classified information before typically would not be granted an interim clearance without at least a review of a government form documenting personal information and some other basic information, a source familiar with the process previously told CNN.
Someone who answered a phone number associated with Pulte hung up when CNN called asking for Pulte. The person did not respond to a text message requesting comment.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency did not provide CNN with comment for this story despite multiple requests. CNN has asked the White House and ODNI for comment.
Pulte’s lack of a security clearance prior to being named to role underlines the unconventional nature of his appointment to what is an incredibly sensitive role at the top of the US intelligence community with critics concerned Trump have placed him in the role to further the president’s retribution agenda.
From his office at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Pulte played an extraordinary role in pushing the Justice Department to pursue some of its most eye-popping cases against the president’s personal foes.
Multiple sources familiar with the decision told CNN that the rationale for the pick was simple: Trump liked what he saw from Pulte and believed he could potentially replicate it at DNI.
Pulte’s appointment sparked shock among national security professionals and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The role, created after 9/11, oversees the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community and was designed to avoid another catastrophic intelligence failure in which spy agencies don’t share information with each other.
Lawmakers have already been raising concerns about what Pulte could do with access to the nation’s most closely-guarded secrets.
“We don’t need a weaponized DNI. We need professionals there,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said when asked about Pulte’s appointment. “I’ve just heard about it. I’ll try and get more information about the current state of their thinking about that position.”
“We have no idea whether (Pulte) even has a security clearance,” Warner told CNN.
Even so, the Senate Intelligence Committee has been attempting to find out what kind of security clearance, if any, Pulte has, but so far it has not been successful, one source told CNN.
At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Warner asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if Pulte had a security clearance. Bessent said he didn’t know.
All three sources also told CNN that there is no evidence Pulte currently has a security clearance or previously had access to classified information. But those sources also acknowledged it is possible he may have been granted one without going through expedited vetting.
Trump has long complained about the security clearance process, and during his first term, he ordered clearances for more than two dozen people, including his own son-in-law Jared Kushner and his daughter Ivanka, who had struggled to complete the security clearance process, according to congressional testimony.
But even so, Pulte’s case is unique given the responsibilities of an acting DNI and what sources described as Trump’s reasoning for choosing him for the job.
At the beginning of his second term, Trump granted temporary, six-month security clearances to incoming White House officials who had not completed the typical vetting process, blaming a backlog of background checks that he helped cause.
Trump issued an executive order that immediately gave high-level clearances called TS/SCI to incoming officials, including some who have never been vetted for potential security vulnerabilities, CNN previously reported.
It was a move national security lawyers inside and outside the government said at the time was unusual, if not unprecedented.
At the time, one former US official who worked on clearance issues in the Biden and first Trump administrations raised concerns that foreign intelligence partners, on which the US relies for much of its intelligence work, will curtail what they share with the US, out of fear that their sources may be put in danger.
“They will start restricting their intelligence,” the official said. “If someone on the other end here has not been vetted, why would they share that?”
Allowing Pulte to similarly bypass those requirements would likely be even more alarming considering his new job overseeing the entire US intelligence community and the level of access to classified information that comes with it.
Beth Sanner, a former senior intelligence official, said she didn’t expect Pulte’s appointment to improve intelligence sharing between agencies.
“To me, Pulte is a divisive figure. CIA might not want to share information with somebody that has no background [in intelligence],” Sanner told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Sean Lyngaas and Jeremy Herb contributed reporting.
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