Carl Kline

Carl Kline is a former 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, and he returned to the Department after leaving the Executive Office. 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. However White House deputy counsel Michael Purpura instructed Kline not to appear at the deposition, citing constitutional concerns. 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.