Why is the Trump team requesting security clearances for conspiracy theorists? Pence won’t answer.

“Do you need security clearance to do scheduling?”

This morning, Vice President-Elect went on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and stated that Michael Flynn Jr., the son of President-Elect Trump’s National Security Advisor, had no role “whatsoever” in the Trump transition.

Flynn Jr. is currently under scrutiny for promoting a conspiracy theory about a Washington DC pizza shop, what has now come to be called “Pizzagate.”

The conspiracy contends that the local DC restaurant is a front for a pedophilia trafficking ring with ties to high level Clinton aides. On Sunday, a man who believed the conspiracy entered the shop and threatened employees and customers with an assault rifle. Shortly after, Flynn Jr. used his Twitter feed to defend the conspiracy theory.

Flynn Jr. was involved with the transition. Later in the day, Pence admitted to CNN host Jake Tapper that he was wrong earlier in the day.

“His son was helping him a bit with scheduling and administrative items,” Pence told Tapper. Trump team spokesmen have stated today that Flynn Jr. is no longer part of the team. Tapper reported this afternoon that Flynn Jr. was asked to leave by President-Elect Trump, according to a source.

After Pence equivocated, Tapper followed up, noting that the transition team asked for security clearance for Flynn Jr.

Pence refused to answer.

Tapper asked again. Still no answer.

Tapper asked if you need a security clearance to do scheduling. Still no answer.

This pattern was repeated five times. Pence never answered the question.

You can watch the exchange in the clip below.

Pence is the head of the transition team. Eventually after the repeated, direct questions, the Vice-President Elect blamed the media.

“This is all the kind of distraction that, frankly, I know, with all due respect, the national media likes to chase after,” said Pence.

Michael Flynn Jr. has a history of promoting conspiracy theories online. After shots rang out at the restaurant, Flynn Jr. continued to use his Twitter feed to promote the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.

Though Pence has condemnation for the media, on Tapper’s show he did not condemn Flynn Jr.’s actions or elaborate on why Flynn Jr. was asked to leave the transition team.

His father, Trump’s incoming national security adviser, has also used his social media presence to promote bizarre conspiracy theories, including a different theory purporting to tie Hillary Clinton to child sex crimes.

Trump’s deputy national security adviser, KT McFarland, also pushed Clinton conspiracy theories in the past.

In 2006, when she challenged then-Senator Hillary Clinton in a primary campaign, she claimed that the Clinton team was spying on her Southampton, NY house with helicopters and photographing her from an apartment across the street of her Manhattan apartment. At the time, her accusations provoked shock; There was no evidence of either claim.