The special counsel wants to know more about Kushner’s alleged dealings with Chinese and Qatari investors after the 2016 election.
Jared Kushner is among the Trump administration’s top foreign-policy advisers, and the chief architect of its plans for bringing “peace” to the Middle East. He requests more classified intelligence from America’s spy agencies than any other White House employee except for those who serve on the National Security Council. And yet, he still hasn’t obtained a permanent security clearance — and quite possibly never will.
Why the president’s son-in-law has been unable to pass the background check necessary for securing indefinite access to state secrets isn’t entirely clear. The most obvious explanation is that Kushner has had to revise his disclosure form regarding foreign contacts three separate times — on each occasion because he had failed to “remember” certain conversations he’d had with foreign entities.
But there is another (potentially related) red flag in the senior adviser’s background: Kushner’s family is massively indebted due to a poor investment decision that he made — and must secure hundreds of millions of dollars in new capital by early 2019 to avoid a financial calamity.
Which is to say: Any foreign government willing to nudge some investors toward Kushner Companies could conceivably exert undue influence over the White House adviser.
And that prospect looks all the more conceivable, given Kushner’s actions immediately after the 2016 election. During the transition period, Kushner ( reportedly) met with the chairman of the Chinese firm Anbang Insurance, in hopes of securing a $400 million investment in his family’s flagship property at 666 Fifth Avenue. Meanwhile, his company also ( reportedly) sought $500 million in capital from the former prime minister of Qatar for the same project.
Now, it appears that those dealings have piqued the interest of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. As CNN reports:
CNN’s dispatch offers no details on what Mueller may have been looking for with these questions.
