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Trump son-in-law tried to set up secret communications with Russia?

Trump son-in-law tried to set up secret communications with Russia?

Last updated on: May 29, 2017 at 5:45 am by Gene Veith

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Trump son-in-law tried to set up secret communications with Russia? 2017-05-27T11:32:24-04:00 Gene Veith

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President Trump’s son-in-law and top advisor Jared Kushner (Ivanka’s husband) talked to the Russian ambassador about setting up a secret communications channel linking the transition team with Moscow. The technology would be through the Russian embassy.

U.S. intelligence intercepted dispatches from Ambassador Sergey Kislyak telling his superiors about the talks. So reports the Washington Post.

Could Jared be the mole in the White House? He wouldn’t be the leaker, since he wouldn’t have leaked this or other information about the Russian investigations. And this could not have been just his doing. Michael Flynn, since fired as the president’s national security advisor for his Russian associations, was also at the meeting. And the channel was to be for the “transition team.”

I grew up up during the Cold War, with all of its worries about Russia infiltrating our government and trying to take us over. I’ve also read too many spy novels. But this is all exceedingly troubling.

From Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin – The Washington Post:

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 Sergey 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 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.

Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate — a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.

[Keep reading. . .]

Photo of Jared Kushner: Credit all photos to: Lori Berkowitz Photography (per here) ([1] Uploaded by Tabercil) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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