The White House said on Friday it has consented to a former staffer appearing before a congressional panel for an "on the record interview," accompanied by his lawyers, regarding security clearance policies and procedures.
The "reasonable accommodation offer" of a voluntary appearance by former White House Personnel Security Director Carl Kline before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform was disclosed in a letter to the panel's ranking Republican, Jim Jordan.
It came after Jordan, a leader of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus better known for stoking than soothing partisan frictions, sought to defuse tensions between House Democrats and the Trump administration with a letter urging the White House to agree to a voluntary committee interview on April 30 or May 1, according to two sources who saw Jordan's letter.