A senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has drawn counterintelligence concern from U.S. officials after he was caught soliciting cash gifts from Israeli citizens to fund his wedding.
David Milstein, who holds a top-secret security clearance and ranks among Huckabee’s closest aides, sent a Paperless Post invitation on Sept. 16 asking guests for “monetary wedding gift[s]” in U.S. dollars or Israeli shekels, complete with a QR code, according to Politico Playbook, which reviewed the solicitation.
“He’s a giant walking counterintelligence red flag,” a member of the intelligence community told Playbook, calling the open solicitation of donations stunning.
Milstein walked it back hours after Playbook asked whether he had State Department and White House sign-off, telling invitees the message was meant for family and close friends who had asked about a registry, was blasted to the full guest list by mistake, and that he and his fiancée could not accept gifts of any kind. Whether money changed hands in between remains unknown.
Colleagues are reportedly wary of Milstein because of his stepfather, Fox News host Mark Levin, a close Trump ally whose name Milstein allegedly drops to protect himself. Were he any other employee, sources said, his clearance would already be suspended.
A former intelligence official who conducts clearance background checks said the episode alone could cost him.
“It’s enough to be taken offline — lose access to intelligence briefings, the SCIF, etc. pending an investigation,” the former official said, adding it could end in a lost clearance or firing.
This is not the first time Milstein has raised alarms. He and Huckabee alarmed U.S. officials last year by quietly welcoming convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard into the Jerusalem embassy. Huckabee’s operation has separately drawn ethics scrutiny and other public controversies.
Milstein has not been accused of a crime or of improperly accessing intelligence. The State Department declined to comment to the outlet.
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