Spy chief warns on Trump aides' clearance

A US spy chief has warned that presidential aides with interim security clearances should have "limited" access to secret information.

US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said the clearance process was "broken" and needs to be reformed.

He was responding to a question about former White House aide Rob Porter, who allegedly beat his wife, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Mr Kushner reportedly has only interim security clearance, like Mr Porter.

Mr Coats was one of several spymasters who gave evidence on Tuesday to the Senate Intelligence Committee about global threats facing the US."Sometimes it is necessary to have some type of preliminary clearance in order to fill a slot," the US director of national intelligence said in response to a question from Democratic New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich.

"But if that is the case the access has to be limited in terms of the kind of information they can be in a position to receive."

He told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday there is currently a government-wide backlog of 700,000 security clearance applications.

"The process is broken, it needs to be reformed. It's not evolution, it's revolution," he said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders would not confirm the number of staff members who are operating with interim clearances.

"We are following a process that has been used by previous administrations and we would rely on the law enforcement and intelligence communities to determine if that process should be changed," Mrs Sanders said during Tuesday's news briefing.

Mr Coats' testimony comes amid controversy over the interim security clearance granted to Mr Porter, the former White House staff secretary who was forced out last week after two ex-wives told US media he was emotionally and physically abusive to them.