From the New York Post:
"Powerful Trump aide who’s in charge of vetting thousands of staffers still hasn’t been fully vetted himself: sources
WASHINGTON — One of the most powerful men in the Trump administration, tasked with vetting thousands of staffers, hasn’t been fully vetted himself, The Post has learned.
Sergio Gor — the director of presidential personnel... — has yet to submit official paperwork about his own background needed for a permanent security clearance, according to multiple sources.
Gor, 38, is in charge of picking about 4,000 executive-branch staff to implement Trump’s agenda — and he’s done so by poring over old tweets, political donations and remarks to ensure loyalty to the president.
But three administration insiders told The Post that the vetter-in-chief has not turned in his Standard Form 86, or SF-86 — a more than 100-page set of questions required for officials who need security clearances.
Among the questions applicants must answer under threat of criminal penalties is where they were born and whether they have any foreign connections.
Gor claims to be from the island country of Malta, though an official there could not confirm his birthplace when provided his exact birthday, saying: “No acts are registered with the provided details.”
Gor declined to divulge his birthplace to The Post, other than to say it was not Russia...
Gor strongly opposed use of the SF-86 during the presidential transition, claiming he was concerned about the “deep state” weeding out Trump’s picks.
“He was actively working to convince everyone, including the lawyers, that the SF-86 was unnecessary and that Trump could just provide everyone with a clearance through his executive authority,” the fourth source said.
“He basically argued that the ‘deep state’ could corrupt the clearance process by weaponizing the SF-86 and background check investigations.”
The time-consuming form, which kicks off a review involving the FBI and Defense Department, is typically submitted by everyone who works in the White House, but rare exceptions can be made with presidential approval.
The form includes questions on place of birth and all former places lived, foreign contacts and family members, foreign funding, drug use and more.
Trump administration and White House officials canvassed by The Post as part of its investigation said they would have gladly skipped over the lengthy process, but that virtually everyone they know submitted the paperwork, which usually is done before starting work.
The White House told The Post that Gor has “completed the form” but would not say when he intends to submit it...
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Sergio Gor is a trusted adviser to President Trump and he has played a critical role in helping President Trump staff the most talented administration in history. It’s sad the New York Post is engaging in baseless gossip rather than focusing on how the Trump administration is tackling the issues impacting our country and world.”
Gor’s rising star: ‘He’s done a great job’
Gor’s wide-ranging vetting role spans from picking ambassadors to staffers who will implement Trump’s policies in every major federal agency, which sources said increases the need for trustworthy leadership.
“The PPO office controls every single political appointee in the government — anyone you hire, the buck starts and stops there,” said one source. “It’s quite a bit of power.”...
Gor’s swift ascent from working as an aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during Trump’s first term to occupying one of the most important roles in American politics has drawn admirers who view him as an effective enforcer of loyalty to Trump.
“Sergio has one of the toughest jobs in the administration,” one supporter said. “He has to say ‘no’ to a lot of people, including a lot of cabinet officials [and] a lot of times he’s telling people, ‘No, you can’t hire this person’ for their own good.’ … He has to say ‘no’ to a lot of officials who aren’t used to hearing the letters N and O put together.”
Gor rapidly rose in prominence — and wealth — in 2021 when he co-founded with Donald Trump Jr. a book publishing company, which printed a coffee table book of official snaps of the former and future president.
He quickly earned enough to afford a seven-bedroom, lagoon-front mansion just north of Palm Beach in 2022 — a short drive from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club...
The White House said Gor, who used the surname Gorokhovsky in high school, attended elementary and middle school in Malta, but the dates are unclear...
“Who cares where Sergio grew up as a child?” said Charlie Kirk, a co-founder of the pro-Trump group Turning Point USA. “For over two decades he’s worked in conservative politics. His loyalty to President Donald Trump is unmatched. His success in politics is a testament to his skills and talent. He’s an example of the American dream.”
Some sources questioned whether a non-Maltese birthplace alone would be enough to motivate forgoing the standard background check.
“He’s one of those odd characters in DC where there does seem to be something that’s unknown — that there’s part of the puzzle that just doesn’t make sense,” said a source who has tracked Gor’s career."
Another source, OCCRP, reports:
"When he was named director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under U.S. President Donald Trump, a media report called Sergio Gor “maybe the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.”
Gor’s public profile has increased more recently, as he continued his work overseeing appointments of thousands of officials for the Trump administration. Media coverage has since filled in much of his biography with one glaring exception — his birthplace.
Now, the Times of Malta and OCCRP have obtained a notarized Maltese property record that shows Gor’s origins. He was born Sergio Gorokhovsky on November 30, 1986, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time.
Gor’s lawyer, Robert Garson, confirmed by email that his client was born in Tashkent.
Gor had previously declined to say where he was born. The December 2024 profile of Gor by the Washington Post — which noted his low public profile, despite becoming a “powerful man” in the Trump administration — skirted the question of his birthplace entirely. It called him an immigrant from the Mediterranean island nation of Malta..."
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