The heat is back on Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as a new Washington Post story contends that America's friends and rivals are more than eager to take advantage of Kushner's inexperience to manipulate him...and Trump.
Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.
Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.
It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner’s contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.
Kushner’s interim security clearance was downgraded last week from the top-secret to the secret level, which should restrict the regular access he has had to highly-classified information, according to administration officials.
H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report. The issue of foreign officials talking about their meetings with Kushner and their perception of his vulnerabilities was a subject raised in McMaster’s daily intelligence briefings, according to the current and former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Within the White House, Kushner’s lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him, the current and former officials said.
They could also have legal implications. Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has asked people about the protocols Kushner used when he set up conversations with foreign leaders, according to a former U.S. official.
This is pretty big stuff. Kushner's Top Secret clearance has been revoked, meaning he can no longer be a party to Trump's daily intel brief. Kushner was basically using that information over the last year to try to cut side deals for his own real estate empire in NYC. The notion that such an arrangement meant he was prime blackmail material for every foreign intelligence agent on earth apparently didn't occur to anybody in the White House until the last week or so.
And in the wings, Robert Mueller is watching Jared Kushner very closely.
Veteran journalist Carl Bernstein claimed Tuesday night that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner is “in the crosshairs” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation after the president’s son-in-law had his security clearance downgraded.
“Jared Kushner is in the crosshairs of special prosecutor Mueller’s investigation, which is focused in part on Jared Kushner like a laser,” Bernstein said on CNN's “Anderson Cooper 360.”
“And there is every expectation in the White House and among lawyers that are representing other people in Mueller’s investigation that Jared Kushner has many, many strikes lining up against him in the Mueller investigation,” the Watergate reporter continued.
Donald Trump Jr. is a complete meathead, the eldest son passed over for leadership, but really Jared has always been the Fredo Corleone of this tale, the one playing his side game to prove how smart he is only to not realize how much he's been played by everyone else. In the end, Fredo becomes too much of a liability to the family and Michael Corleone has him taken care of.
I only wonder when Trump tosses Jared to Mueller in order to save his own ass. Everyone who works with Trump eventually gets thrown to the wolves.
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