Didn’t the Very Special Agents of the FBI used to do this work?
NO!
There are multiple separate entities that conduct those background investigations.
(at least for DoD contractors)
The FBI may conduct them for WH staff, and it seems that ‘some’ critical information has been intentionally withheld from Trump, in another ‘weaponizing’ effort.
There’s no excuse for 15 year old charges not showing up in the first 12 months of employment.
It has taken up to a year to get a top secret security clearance for decades. This is not new at all. And some lamebrain idea about checking social media rather than actual leg work talking with friends and family and employees and employers is a crazy idea. Social media is too easy to distort and hack. There are companies for hire that will change your social media record.