The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White House

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Joe.My.God. I don't have unlimited access to the NYT.

This is INSANE. --> After Khashoggi's murder, "Mr. Kushner has offered the crown prince advice about how to weather the storm, urging him to resolve his conflicts around the region and avoid further embarrassments."

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The NY Times just released an eye-opening report on Jared Kushner's ongoing chats with Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman, including advice on how to "weather the storm" http://ow.ly/60BV30mUJOl

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Karen Attiah Retweeted

It’s hard to read this story without despising Jared Kushner, MbS and the sleazy crowd around them. The Saudis have played Kushner, and, in turn, Trump, so masterfully that the US now excuses MbS’ murder of Jamal Khashoggi and his slaughter of Yemenis.

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NYT Issues Bombshell Report On How Saudi Operatives Groomed Jared Kushner Into Doing Their Bidding

December 8, 2018

The New York Times reports:

Mr. Kushner’s support for Prince Mohammed in the moment of crisis is a striking demonstration of a singular bond that has helped draw President Trump into an embrace of Saudi Arabia as one of his most important international allies.

But the ties between Mr. Kushner and Prince Mohammed did not happen on their own. The prince and his advisers, eager to enlist American support for his hawkish policies in the region and for his own consolidation of power, cultivated the relationship with Mr. Kushner for more than two years, according to documents, emails and text messages reviewed by The New York Times.

A delegation of Saudis close to the prince visited the United States as early as the month Mr. Trump was elected, the documents show, and brought back a report identifying Mr. Kushner as a crucial focal point in the courtship of the new administration.
....

The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White House

By David D. Kirkpatrick, Ben Hubbard, Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti
Dec. 8, 2018

Senior American officials were worried. Since the early months of the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, had been having private, informal conversations with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son of Saudi Arabia’s king.

Given Mr. Kushner’s political inexperience, the private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior American officials. In an effort to tighten practices at the White House, a new chief of staff tried to reimpose longstanding procedures stipulating that National Security Council staff members should participate in all calls with foreign leaders.

But even with the restrictions in place, Mr. Kushner, 37, and Prince Mohammed, 33, kept chatting, according to three former White House officials and two others briefed by the Saudi royal court. In fact, they said, the two men were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed in text messages and phone calls.

The exchanges continued even after the Oct. 2 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was ambushed and dismembered by Saudi agents, according to two former senior American officials and the two people briefed by the Saudis.
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Correction: December 8, 2018
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated when Prince Mohammed bin Salman ousted his cousin, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as crown prince of Saudi Arabia. It was in June 2017, not April 2017.

David D. Kirkpatrick reported from London; Ben Hubbard from Beirut; and Mark Landler and Mark Mazzetti from Washington. Ronen Bergman contributed reporting from Tel Aviv, and Karam Shoumali from Berlin.

A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 9, 2018, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Wooed by Saudis, Kushner Became Influential Friend. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

[marylandblue]

1. I bet they even gave Jared his own orb.

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Many may have the same thoughts

about Kushner. When money rules your day,everything else is disposable. Watched Citi Group for years. Ad the Royal Family Members have increased their holdings of this company,Citi has made some interesting finance forays into some interesting Real Estate deals.

Again,money before morals. Of course,in the world of mega money,morals are a after thought.