Susanne Posel ,Chief Editor Occupy Corporatism | Host of Hardline Radio Show
According to White House leaks, Jared Kushner should “lay low” for now because of reports that he wanted to create a secret communication channel between Trump and Putin.
The Washington Post revealed last week that Kushner suggested to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that the Russian embassy be used to facilitate this secret communication channel during a meeting attended by then National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Kushner’s “lay low” status comes as the White House is said to be creating a “war room” headed by Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon who have been tasked with dealing with everything Russia in connection to Trump.
Publicly, Trump is supportive of Kushner, and told the New York Times : “Jared is doing a great job for the country. I have total confidence in him. He is respected by virtually everyone and is working on programs that will save our country billions of dollars. In addition to that, and perhaps more importantly, he is a very good person.”
Trump is playing both sides of the argument, calling the latest news about Kushner leaks while simultaneously decrying “fake news” in a series of emotional tweets.
The Fake News Media works hard at disparaging & demeaning my use of social media because they don’t want America to hear the real story!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2017
It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
Whenever you see the words ‘sources say’ in the fake news media, and they don’t mention names….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
….it is very possible that those sources don’t exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017
Journalist Philip Bump pointed out the existential blunder of Trump’s tweeter-tantrum: “You must… believe that the press makes up imaginary leakers simply too slowly and incrementally report false stories that are tangentially embarrassing to the president. Trump, unlike most politicians and, frankly, most people, will nonchalantly argue two logically inconsistent points at the same time.”
Coming to Kushner’s defense on the Sunday talk shows, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly tried to explain Kushner’s Russian “back channel” as a “good thing”.
Kelly claimed to not know whether reports about Kushner were true, but asserted that he was not personally bothered by the revelations about Kushner and even suggested that this alleged secret communication pathway would not harm national security interests of the US.
The DHS secretary said: “It’s both normal, in my opinion, and acceptable. Any way that you can communicate with people, particularly organizations that are maybe not particularly friendly to us, is a good thing.”
In contrast, Congressman and ranking member of the House Intel Committee Adam Schiff said it was “obviously very concerning” that Kushner would try to hide communications between Trump and Russia during the transition. Schiff reiterated that Congress needs to “get to the bottom” of the Trump-Russia scandal and suggested that a review of Kushner’s security clearance paperwork should be in order “to find out whether he was truthful.”
If Kushner did in fact lie, Schiff said “there’s no way he can maintain that kind of clearance.”
Sharing Schiff’s sentiment, Senator and member of the Foreign Relations Committee Cory Booker said the reports about Kushner are “serious” and that he “needs to answer for what was happening at the time.”
Booker went on to say: “What’s worrying me are the patterns we’re seeing. So one is this administration not talking about our values, cozying up to authoritarian leaders. And the other pattern we have is just a continuous drumbeat of inappropriate contacts with the Russians.”
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