Once the untouchable son-in-law in a White House where top aides jockey for the president’s ear, Jared Kushner has now been cast in a new role: reassuring people that he’s not going to resign, while colleagues question whether he can survive politically.
Any victory lap Kushner hoped to enjoy after pulling off a successful presidential foreign trip to the Middle East was cut short after the Washington Post reported that during the transition he discussed setting up a secret backchannel with the Russian ambassador. He also failed to disclose earlier phone calls with Russian officials, according to a Reuters report.
The backchannel was never established. But the news puts Kushner squarely in the middle of a wide-ranging FBI investigation into whether Trump campaign advisers were working with Russian operatives to influence the results of the 2016 election.
And it means that the main architect of Trump’s visit to the Middle East is now the lead distraction that will greet the president, who was flying home from nine days abroad on Saturday, returning from what was seen as overall a successful foreign trip.
I'm sorry, "successful foreign trip?"
What news coverage were THEY watching?
Politico also reports that Kushner is frustrated and saddened by his ineffectiveness in his role as Trump's closest adviser:
The spotlight on Kushner’s involvement with the Russians comes at a time when the powerful son-in-law has been telling associates that he is frustrated with his job.
Two associates who have spoken to Kushner in recent weeks described him as “unhappy” and “miserable,” in part because he has not been able to make the changes he wants to under his father-in-law. Kushner, the source said, has recently seemed resigned to the fact that the internal dysfunction that has defined the first months of Trump’s administration is unlikely to pass. “He’s still trying to tell people it will improve but he seems like he was trying to convince himself,” the source said.
You would think that somebody who has been around Trump as long as Kushner has, would realize that he is broken and there is just no fixing him.
As for all that talk about Kushner having multiple contacts with the Russian Ambassador, he apparently has developed a case of amnesia:
Top presidential adviser Jared Kushner’s legal team pushed back Friday night against a report that the White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law had at least three undisclosed contacts with a Russian ambassador during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, saying he had “no recollection” of the alleged exchanges.
"Mr. Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described,” Kushner’s lawyer Jamie Gorelick told POLITICO in a statement, responding to a Reuters report about Kushner's contacts with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak.
“We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," Gorelick added.
Ah yes the "I did not disclose my contacts with Russian operatives, as was my legal obligation, because they simply slipped my mind" defense.
Much like the "How could I have robbed that bank if I do not remember leaving the house?" defense.
Keep it mind that this guy is supposed to solve the opioid crisis, establish peace in the Middle East, and reform criminal justice in this country, all while forgetting important meetings that he has attended.
Yep, that should work out just peachy.
Of course remember in the eyes of Donald Trump all of this is "fake news."
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
"In my opinion?"....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
"It is very possible that those sources don't exist?"
Wouldn't Trump know for a fact whether or not these sources were telling the truth or not?
Yeah, I think he would. Which means he is trying to sow the seeds of doubt when he already knows what the harvest of truth will reveal.
Source http://ift.tt/2rd6TmX
