Kushner Floats! Was Trump’s Witch Hunt Outburst about Jared Losing Clearance?

President Trump had one of his regular tweetbursts this morning about the Mueller investigation, culminating in an all caps tweet WITCH HUNT!

These outbursts are admittedly routine. But there was something unusual about this one. As MMFA’s Lis Starr noted, the three tweets leading up to this, citing Judge Napolitano, Johnathan Turley, and Ken Starr, were all reruns of Fox coverage from the last several days.

In other words, Trump resorted to the DVR to be able to justify his rant this morning. Clearly, he’s even more obsessed today than normal.

That, plus one more detail, makes me wonder whether Trump was reacting to new approaches put in place after Jared (and probably Ivanka) had his clearance downgraded to Secret on Friday.

A memo sent Friday downgraded the presidential son-in-law and adviser and other White House aides who had been working on interim clearances.

Presidential son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded — a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access.

Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances — at the Top Secret/SCI-level — were informed in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.

The SCI acronym stands for sensitive compartmentalized information, a category of information that comes from sensitive intelligence sources and must be walled off.

The memo was not signed by chief of staff John Kelly, but it comes as the retired Marine general and other top White House aides are grappling with the fallout of a scandal involving former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, which revealed that dozens of White House aides had yet to receive permanent clearances but nonetheless had access to some of the country’s deepest secrets.

There are several interesting tidbits about the Politico story reporting that Jared has finally been stripped of his TS/SCI interim clearance. First, John Kelly didn’t sign the memo, even though that’s who Trump put in charge of over-riding typical clearance process to protect his spawn. If Don McGahn signed it, it might mean Friday’s memo came after a follow-up to Robert Mueller’s boss, Rod Rosenstein, informing him, back on February 9, of significant new information that required review before he could be cleared.

Also, Politico cites a statement from Abbe Lowell, Jared’s defense attorney.

Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement that Kushner “has done more than what is expected of him in this process.”

Lowell added that the changes would “not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.”

But the statement is just the same one he used back on February 16, when news of Jared’s impending clearance problems first came out. Lowell still has yet to issue any new bravado since he went silent in the face of last week’s more serious reports.

Meanwhile, Jared is not staying out of trouble. The Trump 2020 campaign announced that Brad Parscale — one of the people most suspect for coordinating data analysis with the Russians — would run his 2020 re-election campaign. The announcement included this quote from Kushner.

Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, and President Trump’s son-in-law, said, “Brady was essential in bringing a disciplined technology and data-driven approach to how the 2016 campaign was run. His leadership and expertise will be help [sic] build a best-in-class campaign.”

Even aside from the typo, this is a no-no, as it ties Kushner’s official White House role to a campaign document.

I almost wonder whether all their fundraising is about paying lawyers at this point. On Friday, CNBC reported that when RNC stopped paying the legal defense of people like Don Jr, it started paying rent at Trump Tower. And the legal defense to pay Trump aides’ legal fees also just went active. Increasingly, it seems, the Trump “campaign” is all about staying out of prison.

Meanwhile, the Kushner family’s partner on the underwater 666 Fifth Avenue is negotiating to get out.

Kushner Cos. says it’s negotiating to buy the 49.5 percent of a debt-laden office tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue that it doesn’t already own from partner Vornado Realty Trust.

Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for Kushner Cos., declined to elaborate on terms for either the purchase or a restructuring of the building’s debt. A Vornado representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The talks were first reported Tuesday by the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month, Vornado recategorized how it accounts for the property, 666 Fifth Ave., because “we do not intend to hold this asset on a long-term basis,” it said in an annual report. That language typically means the company plans to unload an asset within a year, a person familiar with Vornado’s thinking said at the time.

That’s going to shine a lot more light on Kushner’s finances, and his efforts to abuse his position as his father-in-law’s “peace” negotiator to get bailed out by any number of slimy foreign oligarchs.

Jared’s in real trouble. It’s a wonder he can stay afloat amid this witch hunt.

Update: Bingo.

Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.

Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.

It is unclear if any of those countries acted on the discussions, but Kushner’s contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.

[snip]

White House officials said [National Security Advisor HR] McMaster was taken aback by some of Kushner’s foreign contacts.

“When he learned about it, it surprised him,” one official said. “He thought that was weird…It was an unusual thing. I don’t know that any White House has done it this way before.”

Meanwhile, the normally loquacious Abbe Lowell is outsourcing the no-commenting to a spokesperson.

“We will not respond substantively to unnamed sources peddling second-hand hearsay with rank speculation that continue to leak inaccurate information,” said Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner’s lawyer.

Update: Let’s look more closely at something loquacious Abbe Lowell had to say the last time he wanted to go on the record about his client, on February 16.

Lowell said Kushner’s job is “to talk with foreign officials, which he has done and continues to do properly.”

He was denying, 11 days ago, something only now being aired: that Kushner wasn’t properly alerting the NSC of his contacts with foreign leaders. But now we know, he wasn’t properly alerting the National Security Advisor — the one that replaced the one who lied to the FBI about his contacts with foreigners, I mean.

No wonder Lowell has gone silent.

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65 replies
  1. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Reposted from your preceding article:

    The Politico article does seem a tad inconsistent.  The clearance downgrade was issued last Friday.  The memo issuing the downgrade was not signed by Kelly.  Hiding behind the passive voice, the article doesn’t say who signed it, if anyone, or even who issued it.

    Kushner’s lawyer, who has zero to do with clearances, claims Kushner not only did more than what was expected of him in the clearance process, but that his downgrade,  “would not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue to do the very important work he has been assigned by the president.”  That’s like Mickey Mouse telling me I’ve won the lottery.  I probably shouldn’t spend it until I hear from the lottery commission.

    The issue isn’t whether Jared is “able” to be a top presidential aide.  That’s debatable but an aside.  The issue is whether Jared will be allowed to continue to act as a top aide to the president.

    If Kelly means what he says, but wouldn’t put under his signature, Jared should Not act as a top aide.  He can’t do that without reading and evaluating what he can no longer see.  The blind leading the blind is not a reliable way to avoid being run over on the motorway.

    Strangely, Kelly publicly said last week, “that Kushner would be able to continue his work in the White House unfettered.”  How to parse that?  Kelly gutted his own clearance process?  Trump granted a waiver we haven’t heard about.  Trump pixie dusted a waiver, because he can do whatever he wants without writing it down or making it public.  Kelly was lying.  Time might tell.

    More strangely still, the Politico’s Eliana Johnson and Andrew Restuccia write (emphasis mine):

    It was unclear whether Kushner would need access to top secret information to continue performing those duties — and whether Kelly was personally prepared to enact a policy that could be perceived as a jab at the president’s son-in-law.

    The second observation is a fair question, although they should have included Ivanka and McGahn.  The first is not.  Kushner goddamn well needs higher than “secret” clearance to perform his broad but undefined duties.  They include reading whatever comes across the president’s desk, and traveling the world doing whatever the Don asks him to do, not to mention chatting with his wife about her doing the same thing with no more clearance than her husband.  Maybe they should ask the White House counsel what to do.

    • Fran of the North says:

      I’d take a slightly less expansive view of Kelly’s statement. If Kelly was referring to the Kushner’s ‘official’ portfolio of duties: Israeli – Palestinian peace efforts, government innovations etc, then those could be accomplished without TS / SCI clearance.

      And Kelly could say with a completely straight face that he was supportive of JK, and the security policies would allow him to perform his official duties. Don’t want to upset the Texter In Chief.

    • Rayne says:

      My interpretation:
      — Downgrade Friday night = dodged Kushner because of the Sabbath, then weekend and Ivanka came home from Olympics so too busy to notice the kick in the ass until today.
      — “would not affect Mr. Kushner’s ability to continue…” = Kushner asks FIL to clear material on case-by-case basis and FIL isn’t going to stop his work because the spice must flow into family coffers.
      — There’s no signature because nobody wants to put up with that slack-assed golfcart-riding jackhole screaming at them.

  2. Kokuanani says:

    Does anyone out there have the unhappy task of watching the Fox morning shows and making a list of the “issues” and “arguments” which are sure to roil Trump’s mind and fingers every morning?  There’s little mystery here: all one has to do is tune in, if one can stand it.  Any organized Dems could get their act together for a response.

    • Rayne says:

      I think Matt Gertz on Media Matters’ team first noticed the relationship between President Tweeterrage’s tweets and content on Fox and Friends’ programming. He keeps an eye on Fox and still notes the synchronicity.

      Former Gen. Mike Hayden (who isn’t a fave here) noted the same parallels between Trumps tweets, Fox content, and Russian bots. A not too subtle hint there.

  3. harpie says:

    Oh my:
    Washington Post‏Verified account @washingtonpost 7m7 minutes ago
    Exclusive: Foreign officials have discussed manipulating White House adviser Jared Kushner via his business arrangements, U.S. officials say
    [quote] Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter. [end quote]

    • harpie says:

      From the article:

      Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has asked people about the protocols Kushner used when he set up conversations with foreign leaders, according to a former U.S. official.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        I wonder how the answers to Mueller’s questions might relate to a conspiracy to defraud the United States claim?

      • Rayne says:

        Yeah. I like how that bit was worded. “Protocols,” as in diplomatic etiquette applied, or established treaty/political relationships, or communications procedure, or…computer networking protocol and the apps used by that protocal? Heh-heh.

    • J-Mann says:

      Oh my:

      More intel leaks from anonymous officials.  Surely they are telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Remember when Obama unloaded the Espionage Act of 1917 on whistleblowers?!?

      WaPo – “…according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.”

      I remember under Obama, any and all insider leaks were bad, bad, bad!
      Now, if they hurt Trump, they’re great, great, great!

      #Hypocrisy

      • Trip says:

        But, but, but…leaks are good!

        “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”

        This just came out,” Trump said. “WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks.”

        “This WikiLeaks stuff is unbelievable,” Trump said. “It tells you the inner heart, you gotta read it.”

        “It’s been amazing what’s coming out on WikiLeaks.”

        Another one came in today,” Trump said. “This WikiLeaks is like a treasure trove.”

        “Getting off the plane, they were just announcing new WikiLeaks, and I wanted to stay there, but I didn’t want to keep you waiting,” said Trump. “Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks.”

  4. earlofhuntingdon says:

    On your point about where all these new campaign contributions are going, Trump certainly has a long history of using other people’s money to pay for his own stuff.  But I don’t see how 2020 campaign dollars could legitimately be spent on legal defense costs connected with a 2016 campaign and those not related to a campaign.  It would be useful to know if other presidents starting campaigning for their second term so early in their first term.

    The breakup of the partnership owning 666 Fifth Avenue will be interesting.  Public spats, like divorce disputes, are always revealing.  More to come, especially if Jared is now hampered in using public office to help solicit investors to refinance its $1.8 billion price tag.  We might be witnessing chum being thrown in the water around the Orca while she’s well out to sea.

    • Bobby Gladd says:

      “I don’t see how 2020 campaign dollars could legitimately be spent on legal defense costs connected with a 2016 campaign and those not related to a campaign.”

      The 50-year record of his “adult” life shows rather dispositively that Trump could give a rat’s ass about what’s lawful or “legitimate.” He will push the envelope as far as he needs to.

    • Avattoir says:

      Really? You expect Steve Roth – old hand at political backing aimed at the further market in influence peddling – to cause a big messy court-heavy public fuss over an amount ($80m is all that’s been admitted to) which, considered in context, looks more like bridge financing than serious partnership?

      I mean, I hope you’re right, and that the quote disembodied from anything narrower than Vornado & constructed to seem artifully untethered from either reaction or comment, actually manifests a throw-down.

  5. Bobby Gladd says:

    At least all of the members at Club Mar-a-Lago will retain their Top Secret clearances so they can continue to provide POTUS with their excellent advice over dinner (and delicious chocolate cake) and drinks and on the greens.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Fair point.  Sadly, el presidente can declassify information on a whim, which would make his disclosure of info to his dinner and drink partners not criminal.  Sadly for Mar-a-Lago members, Trump might fail to remember if and when he did it, especially if he can enact retribution by doing so.  So they’d be wise not share the info they get from Trump too widely.

  6. harpie says:

    Today:
    Approx 11:15 am ETDan Friedman @dfriedman33   Brad Parscale, today named manager of Trump 2020 campaign, has not specifically denied knowing of Trump campaign contact with Russia or other foreign entities during the 2016 campaign. He’s been asked many times. […]

    Approx. 12:10 pm ET Ken Vogel: Actual subject line of TRUMP campaign fundraising email just now: “NO COLLUSION.”

    Approx. 3:40pmET  We find out from Politico that: Kushner loses access to top-secret intelligence

    Approx 4:30pm from The Atlantic:  Roger Stone’s Secret Messages with WikiLeaks  [Transcripts obtained by The Atlantic show Donald Trump’s longtime confidante corresponded with the radical-transparency group]

    Approx. 5pm from WaPo: Kushner’s overseas contacts raise concerns as foreign officials seek leverage
    [Did I miss anything while I was doing this? Didn’t want to enter all the links so the comment will go through]

    • harpie says:

      Approx 5:50pmET from NBC News
      [quote] EXCLUSIVE: Russia compromised election systems in 7 states prior to 2016 vote, U.S. officials tell @NBCNews “Three senior intelligence officials told NBC News that the intelligence community believed the states as of January 2017 were Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.” [end quote]

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        Well, golly, gee whiz.  Any material impact on the outcomes in those states, Florida and California especially, could have swung the election.  Nothing to see here, move along.

        The announcement makes one wonder why the “intel community” sat on that modestly important data for so long.

        • Mark says:

          Actually, 5 of the 7 states were either solidly red or solidly blue, if there was any kind of vote changing or registration hanky panky then it would have been for state or local politicians and not for Trumpski, the margins in those states were far too large to fly under the radar.

          But, two of the states were purple, FL and WI, in FL I believe it considered such a lock for HRC that her campaign actually stopped spending there, early voting had her ahead by 11%.  Yet Trumpski went on to win by 113,000 votes out of a bit under 9 million cast.  That is 1.2%.

          In WI the difference was even closer with only 10,000 votes difference or 0.8%.  Both of these states COULD easily have been rigged by the russians, well easy for them, I know many of you could not do it.  And sadly, because once the winner is certified, and the time allotted for any challenges has passed, the results in their electronic data form are swept from existence.

          So I think that unless Tsar Vladimir decides to drop his knowledge on Faux News we are never going to know if the election was actually rigged or not.  Though that should have no impact on the ATTEMPTS to rig it, just as illegal and just as treasonous.

          • bmaz says:

            As to “Mark’s” 1:46 pm “comment”:

            Don’t you “well actually” me fly in first time commenter. I live in one of the seven states, and call bullshit on your general comment.

            This is not your average blog. Bring better stuff, or be discredited. And, no, I am not kidding in the least.

            • harpie says:

              Reading all this about elections made me think of checking out what Dave Wasserman might be tweeting about. Coincidentally, here’s a recent one:
              Dave Wasserman‏Verified account @Redistrict 7:30 PM – 26 Feb 2018 
              [quote]The 2020 election is on track to be decided by 10 states: AZ, FL, ME, MI, MN, NV, NH, NC, PA, WI. In 2024, that list will again look a bit different. [end quote]

          • earlofhuntingdon says:

            Until each state implements a resilient audit trail, and performs thorough audits on its equipment, software and the voting process, we won’t know whether its system was rigged or even tweaked at the corners sufficiently to affect an outcome.  That would happily make Democratic or Republican Party tinkering visible, too.

            Vlad’s confessing to Hannity won’t have much to do with it.

      • harpie says:

        There seems to be some question about this NBC News report:
        Tyler Q. Houlton‏Verified account @SpoxDHS
        [quote] @NBCNews reporting tonight on the 2016 elections is not accurate and is actively undermining efforts of @DHSgov to work in close partnership with state and local governments to protect the nation’s election systems from foreign actors. / As we have consistently said, DHS has shared information with affected states in a timely manner, and we will continue to do so. We have no intelligence – new or old – that corroborates NBC’s reporting that state systems in 7 states were compromised by Russian government actors. [end quote]

          • earlofhuntingdon says:

            Normally, the department that works most closely with the chief executive is the DoJ.  Under Trump, it is the equally secretive but much larger DHS, securing the Heimat. As an agency, it is as successful as the Pentagon in avoiding congressional oversight, yet manages to keep its budget intact.

            It is Kelly’s old stomping ground, literally, and is now headed by a like-minded protege of Kelly’s, the one who, in covering for some racist comments from Trump, claimed not to know that Norway has the whitest, most homogenous population in Europe. The aptly named, blonde, blue-eyed Kirstjen Nielsen.

            • harpie says:

              This DHS spokesman, Tyler Q. Houlton, is…really a piece of work…arguing with ACLU, challenging media. He evidently writes his own “statements”…I’d be interested in your opinion, EOH, and others.

            • harpie says:

              These are some of the Tweets from Houlton’s DHSspox acct:
              GET THE FACTS: Unaccompanied Alien Children and Family Units Are Flooding the Border Because of Catch and Release Loopholes
              *
              GET THE FACTS: We Must Secure The Border And Build The Wall To Make America Safe Again
              *

              FACT SHEET: To Make America Safe Again, We Must End Sanctuary Cities and Remove Criminal Aliens

              *

              FACT SHEET: We Need to End Unchecked Chain Migration and Eliminate the Reckless Visa Lottery to Secure the Nation and Protect the American Worker
              *
              He responds…unprofessionally, let us say, to Sen Lindsay Graham, who said [in part]: “As for Secretary Nielsen, I’m incredibly disappointed in her for allowing her office to become so politicized and for allowing something like this to go out.”
              *
              He tells the WSJ Editorial Board: “We are happy to walk you through your errors.”
              *
              He says: DHS can confirm [Breitbart story] that Mahad Abdiaziz Adbiraham entered the U.S. as a derivative of a relative.
              He was previously spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, and when his boss retired, he said:

              “Mr Tancredo was leaving office confident that “there’s enough people to carry on the baton” of vehement opposition to any citizenship opportunity for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the US.”

              • Rayne says:

                Maybe if douchebag Houlton spent a little less time on chasing persons of color and a little more time focusing on actual threats to US democracy he 1) wouldn’t have to forcefully rebut reports about election systems compromised, and 2) he wouldn’t sound like a freaking douchebag. /choir-preaching-LOL

              • earlofhuntingdon says:

                Mr. Houlton seems an unlikely choice to “carry the baton”, whether it’s a baton rouge or any other color.  He does seem ideally suited to carry vehemence to a level of incivility that would make David Brooks blanch.

                Chains are used with anchors.  They are rarely unchecked; in fact, checking movement they do by design.  If Mr. Houlton is referring to allowing other members of a “family unit” into his sacred country, he might be talking about the sort of family unification that benefited Donald Trump’s and his wife’s families.

                He should be leery of denouncing “catch and release” loopholes.  As a beneficiary of a wingnut welfare, it might strike too close to home.

                If he wants to help build Mr. Trump’s wall, he should visit  Berlin.  There are still a few engineers there who have exactly the experience he and Mr. Trump are looking for.  His wall won’t secure the border, but it will handily secure the futures of a few building contractors, who can expect Pentagonian levels of income from building it.

  7. cue says:

    You forgot to mention that this has been your regularly scheduled Tuesday news dump sponsored by MAGA LLC?

    /s

  8. TheraP says:

    In the wake of this info, I am very interested to know exactly what queries Kushner made for intelligence info.

    He made more requests for such info than anybody. What for? FOI anyone?

    I wonder what Act in the Play we’re at. And the # of Acts.

  9. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Why is it that Brad Parscale, Trump’s new 2020 campaign manager, looks so much like Grigori Rasputin?  Reincarnation?  Or is it because Trump outsourced his vetting process to Vlad?

  10. pdaly says:

    Love the headline.
    There is definitely something peculiar about a witch who floats while almost 2 billion under water.

  11. Bjorn Jensen says:

    Ch ch ch changes- turn and face the ch ch changes –
    Heck – Kushner – Page- Ricky G…. what?

    Maybe I’m in the wrong time zone but
    I’ve been finishing reading the Carter Page interrogation by the minority and had a few thoughts re: Page – -including a quickie side bar visit to Hungary following his last Russian visit in December with another boomerang visit to London –
    Page could not remember the Hungarian ambassador’s name … even though he says he was invited by her ( ugh the depths of his BS) over a holiday long weekend –
    But – Heaven’s Gates !
    If I just read the chyron
    (lower third) correctly –
    Mueller has dropped all charges against Ricky ?
    Kushner can’t read Daddy’s secrets anymore?
    I might condense my Page stuff – maybe – and post -but —-
    It might all be irrelevant now …

    Now what?

    Is this just a storm in a tea cup or a looming avalanche ?

  12. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Charges against Gates were dropped in the EDVA. He took a plea, based in the federal district for DC. Manafort is still facing a long list of charges in both jurisdictions, but he now faces a cooperating witness in Gates, with whom he worked for years.

    I don’t imagine Manafort is getting much unassisted sleep these days, what with that and the houses he wants to put up for bail either under water on their mortgages or possibly subject to seizure as alleged proceeds of a criminal enterprise. His long list of former bad ass clients must be wondering what Manafort would say were he to take a plea.

  13. HanTran says:

    The President can instantly declassify anything he wants to, right? Can he limit that declassification to a specific individual only?

  14. earlofhuntingdon says:

    So, is the Great Orange Hairdo throwing Jared under the bus?  Or does he intend to share whatever he wants with Jared (and Ivanka and McGahn), insta-declassifying it, and saying “fuck you” to the whole classification/de-classification process?

    One might add that to the impeachment charges.  As with pardons, hiring and firing DoJ staff, and other expressions of power that are within the president’s authority, it is possible to exercise those powers for illegitimate or illegal purposes.

    As for the question of who is running American foreign policy today, I’d say the answer is No One.  The State Dept is continuing to rapidly lose qualified staff, the kind that can’t be hired on the outside, the kind it takes years to grow and develop through training, experience and mentoring on the inside.

    Like the White House, the traditional foreign policy principals are working at cross purposes.  In part, that’s because the president is not leading his team or setting priorities.  He’s watching television and tweeting.  He’s hiding because he hasn’t a clue about foreign policy or the many other things his current job requires him to know well.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      The irony is that Trump could solve this problem with the stroke of a pen, by granting Jared, Ivanka and McGahn waivers.

      Don prefers chaos.  It’s all he knows.  Then again, textbook capitalism calls its destruction “creative”.  Sounds directed and intentional.  Sells better than chaos.

      • Kathleen says:

        I have always thought Trump would do pardons for all and then take a hike to “spend more time with his family”    Unless Mueller is successful at wrapping the obstruction of justice anchor around Trump’s ankles before he could pardon.  Not sure how the chronological timeline could go if the whole Trump yacht was to go down  Is sure looking like Mueller has all of the goods on this elite criminal tribe,

  15. Youffraita says:

    Hi, emptywheel: used to read you at FireDogLake & just recently got back online after a long exile from blogistan. Delighted to be back.

    Thanks for your terrific reporting.

  16. matt says:

    (reply in comment not working)

    Can anyone tell me why Mark’s 1:46 comment was not suitable for EW? Was it not appropriate in response to Harpie and EOH?

    We’ve had a WI election official on Wisconsin Public Radio, air his grievances with the failure of both the Federal Gov and Scott Walker to adequately investigate our election results. I don’t think anyone here would disagree with that. If Mark was trolling with a Right-Wing conspiracy theory that required moderator admonishment, I missed it.

  17. Kathleen says:

    Many main stream media outlets have been repeating that Kushner could just be “naive” in regard to his foreign policy dealings. Abbe Lowell and team must love this branding.

    Kushner actively undermined Obama’s foreign policy (UN/Israel/illegal settlement issue) while Obama was in office. Kushner had to change his SF87 three times or more (how many foreign officials he had met with). Kushner has received multi million dollar loans for his families businesses after meetings with bank etc officials at White House.

    Why is the msm so willing to promote such false and lame branding for well thought out criminal activities? Kushner knew what he was up to,

    “Naive” my ass.

  18. Kathleen says:

    So we keep hearing Kelly may be pushed off the deck because he has been pushing others over for what sound like good reasons,  So have both Kelly and McMaster been pulling the curtain back on Kushner?

    Why is McMaster being shoved over?

    Sure seems like Pence is operating in a quiet way.  Barely ever hear his name mentioned

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