Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over a year
President Donald Trump intervened after staff raised concerns about Harp’s access to sensitive information without clearance
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over a year
Photograph: MS NOW (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Natalie Harp, a special assistant to President Donald Trump, did not seek a security clearance for over a year after joining the White House in January 2025.
- Trump intervened after White House counsel and security officials raised concerns about Harp’s access to sensitive information without clearance.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Harp now has a security clearance, contradicting earlier reports that she lacked one.
- Harp’s role as a gatekeeper to Trump, including delivering printouts of news and messages, has drawn internal scrutiny.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
27/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
30/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Natalie Harp, a special assistant to President Donald Trump, worked in the White House for more than a year without a routine security clearance. Two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW that Harp declined multiple times to complete the standard clearance process, which is required for West Wing staff. The reasons for her refusal were unclear.
Harp’s lack of clearance became a concern among White House counsel and security officials, according to MS NOW. Trump personally intervened to prompt her to complete the necessary paperwork, after which she received a clearance. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later stated that Harp has a security clearance like other staff, though this contradicted earlier reports.
Harp’s role in the White House has drawn attention due to her proximity to Trump. She is known for delivering printouts of news, polling data, and messages to the president, often from sources described as questionable. A national security official told MS NOW that Harp’s access to Trump, including in the West Wing and his residence, gave her exposure to sensitive information beyond that of most senior officials.
Disagreement over Harp’s current clearance status
Reports disagree on whether Harp currently holds a security clearance. MS NOW reported that Harp received a clearance only after Trump intervened, citing two people familiar with the matter. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told MS NOW that Harp "has a security clearance like everyone else," without specifying when it was obtained.
What the coverage left out
None of the digests from the centre or right mentioned that Trump personally intervened to prompt Harp to complete the security clearance process. The right-rated digest did not include internal concerns about Harp’s access to sensitive information or her role as a gatekeeper delivering printouts to Trump. The centre-rated digests also omitted these details.
“Natalie Harp has a security clearance like everyone else, and she is a loyal and hardworking member of President Trump’s team.”
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 20 Aug 2026, 03:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The four left-rated digests and the MS NOW report led on Harp’s lack of a security clearance for over a year and Trump’s personal intervention to resolve it. MS NOW’s full report detailed internal concerns about Harp’s access to sensitive information, quoting a national security official who said her proximity to Trump gave her "access to the most sensitive information around Trump, more than nearly all other senior White House officials."
- MS NOW described Harp’s role as a gatekeeper, including her practice of delivering printouts of news and messages to Trump. The report quoted an unnamed source who said Harp "plays into the less productive and more troublesome parts of his nature, putting things in front of him that aren’t vetted." The outlet also noted that Harp’s ascent into Trump’s inner circle began after she credited him with saving her life during a 2020 Republican National Convention speech.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The two centre-rated digests, from Political Wire and Forbes, focused on Harp’s lack of a security clearance for over a year. Both carried the detail that Harp declined multiple times to seek clearance, citing MS NOW’s reporting. Neither digests mentioned Trump’s intervention or internal concerns about Harp’s access to sensitive information.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The single right-rated digest, from TMZ, led on Harp working in the White House for over a year without a security clearance. It noted that she "rarely left the president’s side" but did not mention Trump’s intervention or internal concerns about her access to sensitive information.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Natalie Harp worked at White House for a year with no security clearance: report (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump personally intervened to help most loyal aide get security clearance: report (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- Trump aide Natalie Harp worked at the White House without security clearance for a year (opens MS NOW in a new tab)
- Trump Reportedly Had to Intervene After Natalie Harp Kept Declining to Seek Security Clearance (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
Centre
2Right
1Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over…?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 57% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 14% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over… biased?
- Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over a year is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump aide Natalie Harp lacked White House security clearance for over…?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why did Natalie Harp not have a security clearance for over a year?
- Two people familiar with the matter told MS NOW that Harp declined multiple times to seek a routine security clearance. The reasons for her refusal were unclear. Trump intervened after concerns were raised by White House counsel and security officials.
- What role does Natalie Harp play in the White House?
- Harp is a special assistant to President Donald Trump and acts as a gatekeeper, delivering printouts of news, polling data, and messages to him. She has unusual access to Trump, including in the West Wing and his residence, according to MS NOW.
- Did Natalie Harp eventually get a security clearance?
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Harp has a security clearance like other staff, but MS NOW reported that she received it only after Trump intervened. The timing of when she obtained it remains unclear.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
