WASHINGTON (JTA) — A controversial appointee to a top intelligence post has not yet been vetted by the White House and will be investigated by an independent inspector general.
Charles "Chas" Freeman, appointed to chair the National Intelligence Council, has not yet submitted financial disclosure forms required of candidates for top administration positions, the Washington Times reported.
A spokeswoman for Dennis Blair, the director of national intelligence, also said the White House has not yet "undertaken the typical vetting associated with senior administration assignments" and that Blair chose Freeman without White House approval.
A government investigator told members of Congress he will look into Freeman’s background.
In a letter Thursday, Edward Maguire, inspector general at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told members of Congress who had requested the probe of Freeman that he was "examining the matters you have raised and will respond upon completion.
Freeman has served as president of the Saudi-funded Middle East Policy Council and serves on an advisory board of a Chinese oil company that has invested in Iran and Sudan. Freeman also has been critical of Israel and said Chinese leaders were not quick enough to suppress the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
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