Tag: Jared Kushner

Whenever I finish a book like Russian Roulette, I ask myself the same question: why is anyone still debating whether there was collusion between the Russians and Donald Trump? Trump was a big advocate of Brexit, which was a body blow to the EU, and in the 2016 campaign he called Nato “obsolete”. Although the Russians failed at that moment to produce promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, the authors point out that “Trump’s senior advisers now had new reason to believe that Putin’s regime wanted Trump to win and was willing to act clandestinely to boost his chances. The Russians had offered to help, and Trump’s campaign had demonstrated a willingness to take what Moscow had to offer.” Almost any of these details would have been enough to torpedo any other presidential campaign, but Trump somehow managed to weather every single crisis. There were also more than 60,000 sentences published about Clinton and her emails – and less than 10,000 about Trump’s connections to Russia. An Obama official told Corn and Isikoff it wasn’t until two months after the election that “all the pieces came together for us”. As Corn and Isikoff explain, the editors decided to make the FBI’s failure to prove a connection the article’s theme, instead of the much more important fact of the investigation itself. What is new in Russian Roulette about the Times piece is how the ex-British spy Christopher Steele reacted to it. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House review – tell-all burns all Read more Before the Times piece appeared, Steele had been considering a trip to Washington to discuss his findings with members of Congress – and perhaps hold a press conference on the steps of the Capitol. If Steele had gone public, could that have been enough to change the election?

Today in 5 Lines President Trump defended his administration’s new gun and school-safety proposals, which include arming school staffers. Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who says she had an affair with Trump, offered to return the payment she received from Trump’s lawyer in exchange for dissolving the hush agreement. Trump reinforced his endorsement of Republican Rick Saccone ahead of Tuesday’s competitive special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district. The House Intelligence Committee reportedly finished interviewing witnesses as part of its Russia investigation. Today on The Atlantic ‘Evangelical Identity Crisis’: A new book reveals that a liberal, diverse subset of evangelicals is at odds with those who helped elect Trump—and that those fractures may define the movement going forward. (Emma Green) Extremism on Autoplay: Conor Friedersdorf argues that the algorithms that steer people toward “less mainstream” content are no problem in realms like music—but in politics, on platforms like YouTube, they could have “much darker consequences.” ‘I Think We Are Going to Elect Incredible Diversity’: New Jersey Senator Cory Booker discusses marijuana legalization, veganism, and the 2020 presidential race with Julia Ioffe. Follow stories throughout the day with our Politics & Policy portal. Snapshot What We’re Reading Dueling Roles: Ivanka Trump “likes to be in complete control,” but navigating her roles as the president’s daughter and a White House adviser has made that increasingly difficult. (Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker, The Washington Post) Sealed: Qatari officials reportedly have evidence of what they claim was the United Arab Emirates’s influence on Jared Kushner and other Trump associates, but won’t hand it over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. “All else being equal, a special election in an overwhelmingly Republican district should not be of much interest,” writes Jay Cost.

The Federal Transit Administration has been advising a New Jersey town on a project to develop a ferry service that would bring passengers to the doorstep of a resort co-owned by Jared Kushner. » Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc About: MSNBC…

After a week of chaos and infighting at the White House, speculation remains rife over who might soon follow communications director Hope Hicks and resign. ‘Call it chaos’: Trump adrift after week of White House anarchy Read more Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner saw his ability to function as a senior adviser threatened after his security clearances were downgraded at the behest of the chief of staff, John Kelly, whose own position has been questioned recently. He added: “This is most particularly sensitive because it’s a family member. It becomes a lot more difficult if you’re going to be sitting at Thanksgiving dinner with that person. “And so for Jared and for Ivanka [Trump’s daughter] and for all the other members of the family who were involved in one way or the other, I think everybody’s got to focus on what’s best for the president.” Kushner is facing a series of reports concerning the intersection of his business and political portfolios, including one by the New York Times that said his company received hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from investors who attended White House meetings. “I think Hope Hicks saw that between the Rob Porter situation and some of the other things that were going on that she was becoming a distraction for the president and less of an asset in her mind,” Christie said. If I’m not 100% an asset for the president, I’m gonna back away.’ And I think she deserves credit and I don’t think she’s getting a lot of it in this kind of scandal-driven stuff that’s going on.” Trump aides defend tariffs move as Europe and China decry 'trade war' Read more Among the names suggested as next out the door are chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, reportedly angered by Trump’s sudden trade tariff decision, and national security adviser HR McMaster, who has reportedly never got on with the president. Despite Trump’s public falling out with Jeff Sessions, it is not thought likely the attorney general will go. The former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus – who resigned last July – told ABC the Trump-Sessions feud was “a problem” but said: “I don’t think it would be good for the president for Attorney General Sessions to leave.” Trump’s grievance with Sessions is based on the former Alabama senator’s decision to recuse himself from investigations into Russian election meddling. And so I think when he feels frustrated by the Russia probe and all of those things he watches on television and reads about in the paper.” Christie said: “The president has the right to do what he wants to do.

Jared Kushner is under scrutiny after the Kushner family company failed to acquire investment from a Qatari entity, followed by Jared Kushner allegedly supporting a U.S. blockade against Qatar. Joy Reid and her panel discuss. » Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc…

President Donald Trump on Saturday night traded humorous jabs with a cabal of lawmakers, administration officials, media figures and military officers at the annual Gridiron Dinner in Washington. "As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine." As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine." - President Donald Trump Trump also laid out the conditions for any such discussions. So let’s see what happens ... Maybe positive things are happening, I hope that’s true … We will be meeting and we’ll see if anything positive happens," the president said. According to eyewitness accounts, Trump delivered a speech in which he took shots at the media, his administration, and even himself. “So many people have been leaving the White House,” Trump said at one point, joking about this week’s spate of White House departures. “It’s invigorating since you want turnover. Steve Miller or Melania?” "I like chaos. - President Donald Trump A charitable organization, the Gridiron Club and Foundation contributes to college scholarships and journalistic organizations.

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Just days after losing his top security clearance at the White House, Jared Kushner could soon be eligible to enter another high-security government facility, legal experts believe. According to Davis Logsdon, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, Kushner could be on the verge of obtaining “long-term clearance” at this separate facility, which, like the White House, is owned and operated by the federal government. Logsdon said that, although such a facility lacks some of the prestige of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kushner would have access to government benefits there that far exceed what he has received as an unpaid adviser at the White House. “All of his meals and housing would be fully paid for by the taxpayer,” Logsdon said. “And, if things play out the way some believe they will, Jared Kushner could be receiving these benefits for decades to come.” While gaining entry to another government facility so soon after losing security clearance at the White House would represent an extraordinary comeback for Kushner, it would not come without a price, the law professor warned. “Jared Kushner might have to put his plans to bring peace to the Middle East on hold,” he said.

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—With Jared Kushner losing his top security clearance, Donald J. Trump is concerned that there will be no one to read classified documents aloud to him anymore, White House aides have confirmed. The aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Kushner’s recitation of top-secret documents had become something of a bedtime ritual for Trump. “Jared would kind of tuck him in and then start reading aloud a document about, say, North Korea’s nuclear program or whatnot,” one aide said. “It got to be something that the President would look forward to.” Whenever Kushner was away on business trips to the United Arab Emirates, China, or other foreign countries, other members of the White House staff would try to fill in for him at bedtime, but Trump would always petulantly reject them. “He’d be, like, ‘You’re no good. I want Jared,’ ” the aide said. According to the aide, Kushner had a “special way” of reading classified documents to Trump, “very slowly and leaving out any long words.” “He’d read in kind of a high, whispery voice that the President found soothing,” the aide said. “Within seconds, he was fast asleep.”

Today in 5 Lines Private Twitter messages obtained by The Atlantic show that Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Trump, corresponded with WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign. During an appearance before the House Intelligence Committee, White House Communications Director Hope Hicks refused to answer questions about the presidential transition or the Trump White House. House Speaker Paul Ryan signaled he won’t support new gun-control measures, telling reporters, “We shouldn’t be banning guns for law-abiding citizens.” Today on The Atlantic When Reagan Trumped America: Certain factors allowed President Reagan to avoid political consequences during the Iran-Contra scandal, and they could be the same ones that protect Trump in the Russia investigation. (Julian E. Zelizer) ‘Your Life Has Changed for the Better’: David French makes the case for carrying a gun. The New Cold War: As Trump continues to undermine America’s soft power, the country’s competition with Russia and China becomes all the more dangerous. (Peter Beinart) Follow stories throughout the day with our Politics & Policy portal. Snapshot What We’re Reading Day Four: Here’s everything you need to know about why teachers across the state of West Virginia have been on strike since last Thursday. (Michael Schwirtz, The New York Times) Return of the Mooch: Despite his controversial public comments and subsequent dismissal from Trump’s White House, former communications director Anthony Scaramucci is garnering enthusiastic support from the Orthodox Jewish community. (Nate Cohn) On Monday, the White House announced that President Trump will host French President Emmanuel Macron in April for the first state visit of his administration. This week, we want to know: If you were president, which world leader would you invite to the White House for a formal visit—and why?

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House chief of staff John Kelly have voiced frustration about Jared Kushner's encroachment on Tillerson's position, according to a report from Politico. Tillerson is reportedly frustrated with Kushner's involvement in foreign affairs, which are usually handled by the nation's diplomatic corps. Kushner, however, has been responsible for Israeli-Palestinian relations, as well as U.S. relations with Mexico and China. “We can’t have four secretaries of state,” Tillerson said. Politico also reports that Kelly has repeated Tillerson's complaints, which reportedly have not been taken well by Kushner. "We need a secretary of state who is supportive of the president," Kushner told Kelly, according to Politico. Kelly is in the process of grappling with the issue of Kushner's security clearance in the White House. Trump said on Friday that Kelly would have the final say on Kushner's security clearance. “I will let Gen. Kelly make that decision,” Trump said at a news conference. “And he's going to do what's right for the country.