Kurt Olsen, a Justice Department lawyer and prominent supporter of President Donald Trump’s claims about the 2020 election, lost his department security clearance last month after failing a polygraph examination, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The examination was a factor in the decision to terminate Olsen’s Justice Department clearance, the sources said. It was not immediately clear whether additional concerns were considered in the decision.
Olsen disputes that his clearance was revoked. In a statement, he said he continues to hold an active clearance from an unnamed government agency and called claims that his clearance had been revoked false. He also noted that he held a security clearance during his service as a Navy SEAL in the 1980s.
The Justice Department confirmed that Olsen does not currently possess an active clearance with the department but declined to discuss any previous clearance he may have held.
It remains unclear what Olsen was asked during the polygraph examination or what led examiners to conclude that he had failed it. A failed polygraph, by itself, does not establish that someone committed a crime. The tests are also widely regarded as imperfect and their results generally face restrictions as evidence in U.S. courts.
Olsen remains employed by the Justice Department as a senior counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. But the loss of his department clearance complicated his ability to remain involved in a Florida-based investigation, according to one source familiar with the matter.
That investigation has focused on allegations involving government officials who were involved in inquiries into Trump, including investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the handling of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.
The probe has generated considerable upheaval inside the Justice Department. Joseph diGenova, who had been overseeing the investigation, resigned in September after disagreements with department leadership over the direction and resources devoted to the case.
Olsen’s clearance issue surfaced shortly before he decided to leave the Florida investigation. One source said he informed senior officials in the Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office on September 28 that he wanted to step away.
Olsen rejected any suggestion that his clearance had influenced that decision, saying the matter was unrelated to his departure. He declined to discuss what prompted him to leave the investigation.
His government career has increasingly been tied to efforts to revisit Trump’s longstanding allegations that the 2020 presidential election was improperly conducted. Before joining the Justice Department, Olsen worked at the White House and with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on efforts to reassess claims of election fraud that had been widely rejected.
The Florida investigation has yet to produce criminal charges. Attorneys representing people under scrutiny have argued that investigators have not produced evidence supporting the sweeping allegations at the center of the inquiry.
Among those examined by investigators is former CIA Director John Brennan, who served during Barack Obama’s presidency. Prosecutors have told Brennan that he is a target of the investigation, while Brennan has denied wrongdoing.
Before leaving the probe, Olsen was involved in discussions with Brennan’s attorneys concerning a subpoena for grand jury testimony, according to a court filing in Brennan’s lawsuit against the Justice Department.
The episode adds another layer of uncertainty to an investigation that has already faced internal disputes, leadership changes and questions over its direction, while Olsen’s own role inside the department has come under increasing scrutiny.
