The Washington Post is reporting Donald Trump's closest adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, spoke to high level Russian officials regarding setting up a secret line of communication with the Kremlin.
Jared Kushner and Russia’s ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Now, why would you want to hide your communications with Russia unless you were doing something you shouldn't?
“Secret” meaning “not subject to monitoring by the US government.” Anybody got an innocent explanation for that? https://t.co/qFnGjtNuGK— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 26, 2017
In addition to being a super shady idea, this was also a really stupid idea. Classic Trump! https://t.co/HlcomAtxFx— Josh Barro (@jbarro) May 26, 2017
Who among us has never set up a secret, secure back-channel line of communication with the Russian government?— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 26, 2017
If true, this is treasonous activity, whether borne of malice or naïveté, or both. https://t.co/Wm4rk3bgtC— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) May 26, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.