Jared Kushner proposed such inappropriate collusion, even the Russian Ambassador was taken aback
When it was revealed yesterday that the FBI is investigating Jared Kushner due to his activities in relation to Donald Trump’s Russia scandal, we raised the likelihood that the FBI knew about far more Kushner-Russia evidence than what has already become public knowledge. Just one day later, some of that additional evidence is indeed leaking out – including just how far over the line Kushner went when he secretly met with the Russian Ambassador during the transition period.
When Kushner met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at Trump Tower in early December, he proposed setting up an unofficial communications backchannel directly between the Trump transition team and the Russian government, according to a new Washington Post report (link). Kushner’s proposal, which would have involved the Trump transition team using Russian communication equipment, was so over the line that even the Russian Ambassador was “taken aback” by the proposal.
Michael Flynn was also at the meeting in question. He’s already in legal trouble for having discussed sanctions with the Russian Ambassador by phone during the transition period, which is a violation of the Hatch Act, as it was aimed at sabotaging the sanctions that then-President Barack Obama was attempting to put in place. The evidence now increasingly points to Kushner having been the driving force behind Trump-Russia collusion, and Flynn perhaps having merely been a more sloppy secondary accomplice.
But the extent to which Jared Kushner was attempting to set up secret communications backchannels was so much more sophisticated that it points to a desire on his part for a much deeper level of collusion with the Russian government during the transition period. Even ahead of this evening’s new revelation about Kushner and the Russians, the Democratic Party was already seeking to get Kushner’s White House security clearance revoked (link). That effort should gain strength now that it’s being revealed just how far over the line Kushner tried to go.
