Trump's family is reportedly furious with John Kelly, and the sides may enter a 'deat

Trump's family is reportedly furious with John Kelly, and the sides may enter a 'death match'

https://aol-releases-assets-producti...3/S37U2q2L.pngALEX LOCKIE
Feb 28th 2018 8:01AM

• Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump are reportedly squaring up for a "death match" with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
• Kushner had a horrendous day on Tuesday, in which he appeared to break the law, and had his security clearance downgraded.
• An article in the Washington Post also alleged that foreign officials had used his inexperience to manipulate him.
• But Kelly is on shaky ground too after botching domestic abuse allegations against Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary who resigned.

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Jared Kushner, the senior adviser and assistant to the president, and his wife Ivanka Trump are reportedly squaring up for a "death match" with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, who they may feel betrayed them.

It follows a horrendous day for Jared Kushner on Tuesday, and would be the latest example of internal strife at the Trump White House.

"Javanka [Jared and Ivanka] and Kelly are locked in a death match. Two enter. Only one survives," a White House source told Axios' Mike Allen.

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Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner together

"Over the past few weeks I've found fewer people internally willing to defend Jared. ... Politically, I've never seen him so exposed," another source told Axios.

Kushner has faced wide criticism for his lack of full security clearance as he handles a basket of high-profile foreign policy initiatives for Trump.

On Tuesday, Kelly downgraded Kushner's security clearances, in a move that will likely damage his credibility as he tackles important initiatives like working on trade with China and towards peace between Israel and Palestinians.

On the same day, the Washington Post published a bombshell report saying that foreign officials in at least four countries had tried to manipulate Kushner into furthering their aims.

The foreign officials reportedly leveraged Kushner's lack of foreign policy experience and complicated business ties to push their agendas and find leverage.

Kushner's lawyer's spokesman dismissed the Post's story as "second-hand hearsay."

Also on Tuesday, Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Business Insider that by endorsing Trump's announcement to run for office again in 2020 with his official White House title, Kushner may have committed "a clear violation of the Hatch Act."
The Hatch Act bars government employees from using their titles in political efforts, and has repeatedly tripped up Trump officials.

But despite the catastrophic day for Kushner, Kelly also appears to stand on shaky ground in the White House after reports surfaced that President Donald Trump was considering replacing him.

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John Kelly in his White House role
SEE GALLERY

Trump was reportedly angered by Kelly's response to the scandal involving Rob Porter, the former White House staff secretary who resigned amid abuse allegations from his two ex-wives.

"Kelly is now just another staffer who could get fired any day of the week by Donald J. Trump," one person close to the White House previously told Business Insider's Allan Smith.

"Not that I expect him gone today or tomorrow. This is a lesson in what happens when the stabilizing force becomes the agent of chaos."

Rumors of tensions, rough relations, and possible ousters have plagued the majority of Trump's inner circle throughout his presidency.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster have both also been rumored at different times to be leaving the administration, though the pair remain.

Allan Smith and Joe Perticone contributed to this report.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/02/28/trumps-family-is-reportedly-furious-with-john-kelly-and-the-sides-may-enter-a-death-match/23373149/

It's been a brutal day for Jared Kushner

https://amp.businessinsider.com/imag...d9-750-375.jpgJared Kushner.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• Tuesday featured an avalanche of negative developments for Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser.
• Kushner's security clearance got downgraded.
• He appeared to break the law.
• Foreign governments are reportedly trying to manipulate him.
• And his right-hand man announced he is leaving the White House.

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Here was Jared Kushner's Tuesday afternoon: He saw his security clearance get downgraded after months of pressure for the White House to pull his access to top-secret intelligence. He appeared to violate the campaign law known as the Hatch Act. He watched his right-hand man and press aide Josh Raffel announce his departure from the White House.

Here was his evening: The Washington Post reported foreign governments from at least four countries — the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel, and Mexico — privately discussed ways they could manipulate Kushner, a senior White House adviser and Trump's son-in-law, through his business arrangements.

In what has been an often tumultuous tenure for Kushner in the White House, Tuesday was arguably his worst day yet.

Breaking the law?

Just after 11 a.m. on the East Coast, the Trump campaign sent an announcement about Brad Parscale taking the reins as Trump's 2020 campaign manager. Kushner, who was integral to Trump's 2016 campaign and worked closely with Parscale, was quoted as a "senior adviser and assistant to the president" discussing how crucial Parscale was to Trump's initial campaign.

It didn't take long for some campaign experts to notice that, by using his official White House title in the release, Kushner likely was in violation of the Hatch Act — a law that bars government employees from using their titles in political efforts. It's a law that has repeatedly tripped up Trump officials.

Kushner's title was quickly removed from the copy of the release posted to Trump's campaign website.

"This appears to be a clear violation of the Hatch Act," Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told Business Insider in an email. "White House officials are prohibited from using their official title for campaign purposes. Our lawyers are currently exploring potential legal action."

Just before 7 p.m., CREW filed a formal Hatch Act complaint.

"The rules are clear that government officials aren't allowed to use their positions for campaign activity," CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement. "He may have a close relationship with the president, but the rules still apply to Jared Kushner."

Soon after the Trump campaign promoted Kushner's comment, news broke of Raffel's imminent departure. Raffel worked very closely with Kushner and Ivanka Trump and was known as a top crisis manager for the administration. A White House official told Axios that "we call Josh" when there's a crisis, adding that "he is always handling the worst stories."

And it wasn't long after that word spread that Kushner's security clearance was downgraded and some of the worst stories emerged.

'The first real rebuke Trump has faced for nepotism'

Kushner's downgrade from "top-secret" to "secret" means he is no longer privy to items like the President's Daily Brief, the top-secret intelligence report.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that Kushner, "a valued member of the team," will "continue to do the important work that he's been doing since he started in the administration."

Kushner holds a vast portfolio in the White House, including crafting White House policy related to China, Mexico, and Canada, as well as working on Middle East peace and US innovation. Some of those countries have discussed ways to manipulate him, focusing on his complex business arrangements and lack of foreign-policy experience, according to an Washington Post story that was published later Tuesday.

"What this means: Kushner will lose access to nearly all NSA reporting (i.e., intercepted communications, among other elements)," tweeted Ned Price, a national security spokesperson for former President Barack Obama. "Whether or not he could've been successful before, he no longer can be an effective Middle East mediator."
CNN reported that Kushner "steadfastly believes" White House chief of staff John Kelly "is using this as an opportunity to take out his frustration on him."
Democrats who've sought to have Kushner's security clearance stripped for months celebrated the news.

Kushner's downgrade "gives the word 'overdue' new meaning," Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told reporters.

Conservatives weighed in too. Amanda Carpenter, a CNN contributor who used to be senior communications adviser for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, noted that the significance of Kushner losing his clearance extends beyond him not being able to view certain intelligence anymore.

"Revocation of Kushner's top security clearance is significant because it's the first real rebuke Trump has faced for nepotism" in the White House, she tweeted.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jared...ulation-2018-2

Are the Democrats afraid Jared will succeed in a Middle East Peace Agreement?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Judy

Are the Democrats afraid Jared will succeed in a Middle East Peace Agreement?

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I could care less about that. I think he and Ivanka are a huge distraction and need to be gone!

Kelly, Kushner tension simmers amid West Wing uncertainty

By Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Jeff Zeleny, CNN
Updated 9:47 PM ET, Wed February 28, 2018

(CNN)The existing battle-lines between Jared Kushner and chief of staff John Kelly are further entrenched and new diplomatic challenges have arisen after the decision to downgrade Kushner's security clearance, people familiar with the matter say.

For Kushner, the son-in-law and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, news of his diminished clearance came moments before a potentially more damaging headline: that officials from four countries had discussed ways to manipulate him during their dealings on foreign policy.

The series of events led to uncertainty in the West Wing and an impression among officials that Kushner is again on the ropes. Kelly, who mandated the clearance downgrades, has been regarded as his chief antagonist.
The reality, according to several administration officials, is more complicated.

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Kushner, Russia bombshells rock the White House

With the approach of a series of key meetings between Trump and leaders from the Persian Gulf -- a region Kushner has focused on -- Kelly and Trump have agreed that Kushner's input will remain invaluable. Neither believes the clearance downgrade will affect his ability to do the job, though outside national security experts and even some inside the White House wonder how it's possible to hold talks with foreign leaders without access to top secret intelligence.

The White House has consistently refused to comment about individual security clearances or the implications of losing them.

Kushner, whose business dealings and wide portfolio have been the subject of intense scrutiny, told people that he suspected the timing of the story about his foreign contacts was coordinated to be released when issues surrounding his security clearance were in the news, according to a source familiar with his thinking, who described his demeanor in recent days as paranoid.

He is under the impression that officials from the intelligence and national security communities were aware of this information beforehand, the person said, but waited until his clearance issues were in the spotlight to make it public.

Kushner also feels that he has come under fire from his own West Wing colleagues recently, with the notion that "everyone is out to get him," a source said. This person noted that Kushner remains exasperated by Kelly's decision to overhaul the security clearance process, feeling that it is mainly directed at him. He has been asking others, "Why is John Kelly doing this?"

But he's not intending to leave his position in the near-term. And Kelly has told colleagues that he believes Kushner should continue in his job for now, and thinks he'll be able to manage his portfolio even without the top-level clearance.

Trump, meanwhile, has been frustrated by the media coverage of his senior adviser and son-in-law in recent days, telling associates that Kushner is being treated unfairly and that the media has been unnecessarily tough on him. He has also complained that Kelly appears to be making enemies both inside and outside the White House.

But he's not prepared to dismiss Kelly nor is Kelly prepared to leave. While morale in the West Wing is low, both Trump and Kelly believe the current tension will blow over.

Others in the West Wing have expressed exasperation at the constant stream of damaging information that's directed his way.

"I think that there are people out there gunning for folks inside all of the time," said Kellyanne Conway, the presidential counselor, on Fox News. "You know, since the moment we arrived here, folks have been throwing logs in our path."

Trump has made clear to Kelly, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and other top officials that he believes Kushner to be performing essential work and wants him to continue, particularly in regard to the Middle East. Top envoys from the Gulf are expected in Washington over the next several weeks, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia -- the young leader seen by some as a reformer with whom Kushner has fostered deep and friendly ties.

Trump has told his aides that Kushner should be involved in the planning for those meetings but has not specifically mandated he be provided an exemption to view top secret material about the countries in question.
Kushner and his wife, Ivanka, another senior aide, "have to" stay on with Trump, a person close to the White House said.

"They have the President's back," the person said. "It comes with some distraction."
Other sources speculated that Kushner may, at some point in the future, assume a more political role, either with a group electing Republicans in the midterm elections or in his father-in-law's reelection campaign. A close Kushner ally, Brad Parscale, was named campaign director on Tuesday. Such a role wouldn't require access to classified material.

As aides were informed individually last week that their interim "top secret" clearances would be stripped, a sense of uncertainty pervaded among the advisers and officials who remain with permanent high-level access.
Those who still enjoy access to the nation's deepest secrets will now be responsible for cordoning off that information from those with only "secret" clearances -- or be in violation of federal law, which punishes unauthorized disclosure of classified information with up to ten years in prison.

That's provided national security officials -- careerists and political appointees alike -- with a sense of caution. One official described the mood as "walking on eggshells" to uphold the law.

Adding to the sense of uncertainty is a lack of clarity on who exactly has been stripped of their temporary clearances. Advisers have been told there are dozens of aides who previously had access to "top secret" information but who now only have access to "secret" -- but a comprehensive roster of those with downgraded access hasn't been widely circulated.

In Kushner's case, there is evidence that he is turning to the domestic policy areas of his portfolio as the security clearance matter unfolds. He was meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to discuss prison reform, an area he has said holds special meaning since his father served time in prison on tax evasion and witness tampering charges.

It was less clear how the dozens of other officials who now have downgraded clearances will proceed in their positions. Kushner is unique in focusing on a wide swath of domestic and foreign issues. Other aides are more narrowly focused.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/polit...ity/index.html