Donald Trump really did use Kanye West to distract from Jared Kushner’s meeting with Russian banker
Earlier this week, when it became clear that Jared Kushner’s meeting with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov in mid-December was the kind of thing that he and the Trump transition team wanted to keep secret, Palmer Report asked the following question: was Donald Trump’s own mid-December Trump Tower meeting with Kanye West intended as a distraction from the Kushner-Russia meeting? (link). Now, in light of new information, the answer is almost certainly yes.
Kushner’s first Russian meeting at Trump Tower, with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, is long known to have taken place at the start of December. Donald Trump’s meeting with Kanye West at Trump Tower took place on December 13th, so the dates for those meetings don’t line up. But Kushner’s second Russian meeting, with the head of Russia’s VEB Bank, was believed to have taken place in mid-December. And now that’s been narrowed down much further.
The Washington Post has learned from flight tracking information that the head of VEB Bank did indeed arrive in New York City on December 13th (link). That private plane turned around and left town the next day, so it means Jared Kushner really did meet with the Russian banker on the same day that Trump met with Kanye in the same building.
Throw in the longstanding reports that Kushner and the Russians were sneaking in through the back door of Trump Tower in order to hide from the media cameras positioned out front, and it becomes clear why Donald Trump made such a point of bringing Kanye West through the front door that day. Dnald Trump was using him to create a distraction and make sure the on-site reporters didn’t spot evidence of the concurrent Kushner-Russia meeting. Although there is nothing to suggest that Kanye was aware of the Russian subplot, it’s clear Trump was. And that means Trump knew full well that Kushner was meeting with the Russian bank that day. If you’re a regular reader, feel free to support Palmer Report
