The Law is Akbar! A response to J. by Fred

J. you have stated that Jared Kushner has committed treason.  Let me summarize your piece of J'accuse! i.e. the Treason and give a response. You have made allegations yet the only substantial thing you have provided as evidence is a link to an article at the DailyMail. I'll quote a few tantalizing tidbits. 

"Sources have told DailyMail.com that the prince – known by his initials MBS – has been boasting about his close relationship with the president's son-in-law..."  

Ooooh. "Sources have told the Daily Mail.com" It gets better from there. However here is a summary. As the DailyMail article puts it: from unnamed sources we can conclude: MBS didn't start the crack down (on corruption) because he wanted to clean up corruption in the kingdom but because he was afraid of rivals to the throne. How did he find out about those rivals? Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law! Because the Saudi Crown Prince could not in any way figure out who in Saudi Arabia is opposed to him without the help of classified CIA evidence. Really? I know he's young but how did he live this long if the CIA is the only way he knows what is going on in Saudi Arabia?

Further info from the DailyMail: "Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman bragged of receiving classified US intelligence from Jared Kushner and using it as part of a purge of 'corrupt' princes and businessmen, DailyMail.com can disclose."  

They didn't even use the dreaded "Sources say...." But let me venture a few guesses as to the source of that information, let me know when I get it right: Uhm, is that GCHQ? Christopher Steele? Fusion GPS?  a lawyer from Perkins Coie? or maybe just the PR people behind the McCabe go fund me page? Sorry, that last one is just a cheap shot to highlight swamp politics (Washington, not London). Surely that last kind of thing would never happen in the city that is home of the DailyMail.com.

Doubling back to the Mail: ".... he <MBS> has told his circle Kushner passed to him." Oh, so an un-named source says MBS said Kushner passed that on. 

" The Riyadh source said: 'They sat for several hours together. They literally laid out the future map of the entire region, that's why they stayed up to the early hours of the morning from the afternoon before.' "

Well, at least one, ah is there more than one? source is in Riyadh. The land of taqiyya integrity. 

"Despite Kushner's denial sources have told DailyMail.com how MBS boasted in private....."So, Jared (or his lawyers) can't be trusted; however, un-named sources are not sources of taqiyya but sources Truth. 

Yes, the ever wonderful "Sources have told...." followed by

"A separate source told DailyMail.com that it was being said in the Gulf that...."

A separate source. Would that source have been having a couple of drinks at the Kensington Wine Room with an Australian Ambassador? 

how-fbi-russia-investigation-began-george-papadopoulos.html 

So J, for the sake of argument let me presume that rather than firing Mueller, or closing the border, or making peace/nuking Rocket Man, or just about anything else President Trump tells Attorney General Sessions to charge his son in law - with “treason”. Based on, well, some allegations from unnamed sources printed in a UK based online news site. So off to trial the country will go.

As I put it in the title: "The law is great". Perhaps that should be translated as "greatest" because in addition to title 18 of the US code you might read the constitution. The 6th and 14th amendments to which spell out rights to trial, seeing the evidence, calling witnesses, etc. I hope you have read those because it seems many in the press can't be bothered to do that.   

I for one sure can't wait for that treason trial. I want to see who gets to fly to Riyadh to serve the subpoena on the Saudi head of state; who is going to come to the United States in answer a subpoena (thereby proving he is not an equal head of state but subordinate to the USA/DJT) to testify about how the President of the United State's own son-in-law committed treason by telling crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who in Saudi Arabia might be opposed to him - according, allegedly, to the CIA. (those wouldn't be the John Brennan people at the CIA, would they? Naw, they all took an oath to uphold the constitution. They would never do anything duplicitous. Trust me, but verify. Ask Clapper.)

How do you think that will go over, J? Business class flight or will they make the poor bastard serving the subpeona fly coach? I wonder what the guy at the border control/customs desk is going to do when he asks, "why are you here?" and gets "To serve a summons to testify in US federal court to the Crown Prince". I wonder if he'll die laughing? The customs agent, not the poor guy with the subpeona. Better yet someone at justice should send a woman, for diversity's sake. I'm sure that will go over well in Riyadh. 

Of course MSB isn’t coming, is he? Not anymore than those Russians changed with "conspiracy to defraud the United States". And the press sure isn’t naming their sources. Maybe Cambridge Analytica can scan the FB posts…. ah, they don’t have up to date info anymore, do they? How about Google? I’m sure they can do a six-degrees of guilt separation analysis to find the right people to charge with "conspiracy to defraud te United States".  

I did enjoy the Daily Mail article though. Thanks for that. Those guys gotta be rolling in dough with the great income from the ad rates they get from viewership of articles like the one about the 45yo former Spice Girl having washboard abs (its good to know somebody in London is Beach Body Ready.) It’s not like anyone wants to read a follow up on what happened in Rotherham or Telford. Who would ever think that what goes on those cities is something worth investigating and reporting on to the readers in the UK, especially when we have some juicy clickbait about the Kardashians (4) the Cloony's (1) or Trump.

Cheerio......

But, there's always a but; I did learn here that one needs to evaluate the source of the information and the information itself seperately. Sometimes dubious sources have accurate information that can be confirmed by another source.

So where does that leave the allegations against Jared Kushner? Just what is he vulnerable too? As I see it from this and other open source materials, three things.

1. He’s got actual ftrouble re-financing a bond note, due in January 2019, on a building in Manhattan.
2. He’s "at risk" for being, at a minimum, influenced by foreign governments due to his financial position and  “naiveté” in international affairs.
3. He may have actually passed classified information on to the Saudi Crown prince. That may be the reason his security clearance was downgraded. 

Let me review some of the open source material on those three items. The last issue first; the security clearances:

Regarding Trump's meeting in Saudi Arabia in 2017, I pulled this link from a comment by “The Beaver”, it is an article about the Kushner meeting with MSB.

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2017/03/when-house-trump-met-house-saud/136367/

The security clearance issues from this year, February 2018:
http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-loses-top-secret-security-clearance-2018-2

Note the date, 2/27/2018. 

“All White House aides who had interim top-secret clearances were informed on Friday that they would be downgraded to "secret," Politico said, citing three unnamed sources. CNN and The New York Times followed up with reports confirming the news.”

This was done, according to news reports, because Bob Porter was accused of spousal abuse, not because of Jared transferring classified information to Saudi Arabia. "Kushner's security-clearance status had been up in the air since revelations that Rob Porter, ..." Why didn’t Porter tell Trump that up front? I suspect because he wouldn’t have gotten the job. Regardless of that Kelley made sure he didn’t keep it.  What's that got to do with Jared, other than perhaps deflecting attention away from what happened in the meeting in KSA?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/13/kelly-porters-scandal-white-house-407242 

And further info:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/13/kelly-porters-scandal-white-house-407242

This is WH Chief of Staff Kelly’s memo regarding the new security clearance process:

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/politics/read-kellys-memo-of-proposed-changes-to-white-house-security-clearance-process/2777/

 

The financing of the building at 666 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, NY. 

"666 Fifth Ave. in New York, which the company bought under his direction for $1.8 billion in 2007, the highest price paid at the time for a U.S. office tower. The purchase became troubled as the Great Recession hit, and Kushner refinanced it, leaving the company with a $1.2 billion debt that comes due in January 2019."  (This is from a WAPO/Chicago Tribune article linked below)

ABC news says how concerned they are but their only substantiation on just who met with Jared about money is not their independent reporting but a link to the NYT. You'll notice the ABC news report is March 2nd but the NYT is 2/28/18. It looks to me like there is an awful lot of co-ordinated anti-Trump media coverage coincidentally published on the same day, the 28th of February.

ABC News Jared-kushner-entanglements

NYT jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans

In the NYT article linked above you will find that Kushner met with the head of Apollo Investments and the CEO of Citibank:
“An Apollo spokesman, Charles V. Zehren, said Mr. Harris was not involved in the decision to loan money to Kushner Companies. He said the loan “went through the firm’s standard approval process.”  and “A Citigroup spokeswoman, Danielle Romero-Apsilos, said Kushner Companies had been a bank client since before the election and that the relationship had no connection to Mr. Kushner’s White House role. She said Citigroup negotiated the 2017 loan with Kushner Companies’ business partner, a real estate developer.” 

And the bombshell of: “Mr. Kushner resigned as chief executive of Kushner Companies when he joined the White House last January, ..."  ... "But he retained the vast majority of his interest in Kushner Companies. His real estate holdings and other investments are worth as much as $761 million, according to government ethics filings”

There is also further detail regarding  "Mr. Kushner’s firm has sought investments from the Chinese insurer Anbang and from the former prime minister of Qatar."  and "One of the largest investors in Apollo’s real estate trust is the Qatari government’s investment fund, the Qatar Investment Authority" and "Mr. Harris is also an advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York."

Of course the NYT does not mean to imply that Qatar is seeking to influence the Federal Reserve by investing in a firm whose CEO advises the Federal Reserve. Nothing to see here Bob Mueller. "Russia" isn't mentioned either, but it is worth reading the article. Where you'll also find this: "Thomas Barrack, a close Trump friend ….  told The Washington Post that the refinancing efforts were “crushed” because Kushner’s move to the White House “just about completely chilled the market, and [potential investors] just said, ‘No way - can’t be associated with any appearances of conflict of interest,’ even though there was none.”"

And from also from 28 February of this year, the redoubtable Marcy Wheeler, giving an opinion in the NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/opinion/jared-kushner-conspiracy-fraud.html

“The implication in the article is that the United States government has intercepted communications of foreign leaders talking about ways they could take advantage of Mr. Kushner, whose family real estate empire is facing substantial debt woes.”

“According to reports, Mr. Mueller appears to be assessing whether Mr. Kushner, in the guise of pursuing foreign policy on behalf of the United States, was actually serving the interests of his family and foreign governments.”  Really, “defraud the US" by shaking down foreign governments for cheaper financing on real estate? 

The WAPO article she links to is behind the paywall but it’s published just about everywhere, Worcester Tribune, Straits Times and in Chicago too. 

 Here, let me quote the Chicago Tribune, (quoting the WAPO):

““Every country will seek to find their point of leverage,” said one person familiar with intelligence intercepts of foreign officials discussing Kushner.”

Lets look at the key quote:

“Said a person familiar with intelligence intercepts of foreign officials….”

Hey, Marcy, did you catch that?  Why yes you did, here from her NYT op-ed:

"On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that “officials in at least four countries” — United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico — “have privately discussed ways they can manipulate” Mr. Kushner"  "The implication in the article is that the United States government has intercepted communications of foreign leaders talking about ways they could take advantage of Mr. Kushner,"

I think you missed the part about the press helping someone inform multiple foreign governments that the USA can read their councilor message traffic. I noticed you did not ask: Who released that classified information to the press? Do they still have a security clearance? Will Bob Mueller charge them with anything? The last time a former Obama official did that it was to tell the Russian's we could read there message traffic.

In conclusion, based on what I read:

Finances:

Kushner's company faces a chilled financial market. I'm sure there are people in that field who hate Trump and wouldn't stoop to boycotting anyone doing business with him, or his son-in-law. Or just plain use it for leverage for a better deal before January, 2019. What does that mean for the totality of Kushner's assests? I don't know, the articles I've read don't list the relationships between all those entities but I would venture to guess the collateral for the bonds in question is the real estate, not every piece of it but at least the one building. 

Do the bond holders want to own an over-valued piece of Manhattan real estate, specificly one bought at the peak of the real estate bubble, once the LLC that owns it gets forced into default/bankruptcy? I suspect not. I also understand why a whole bunch of investment firms won't touch those bonds either for exactly the same reason. They won't risk a boycott from politically powerful investors in the Republic who hate Trump. Nor do they want to risk anything related to government regulatory action once he leaves office.

What does that have to do with the reason for Mueller's investigation - Russia and the election of 2016? The only mention in in multiple sources I reviewed was a short comment in Marcy's op-ed: "In December 2016, Mr. Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, the head of a bank under American sanctions, ... That meeting came after Mr. Kushner suggested a back channel of communications in a meeting with Russia’s ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, according to Mr. Kislyak."  Oh, he met the Ambassador. What law makes that illegal? He met another Russian, Sergey Gorkov, a year ago, where they talked about.... well, nobody says what they talked about. That can only mean....pick your favorite conspiracy theory. 

Kushner's risk of influence over the financing? Is the head of Apollo being influenced in his advice to the NY Federal Reserve Bank because Qatar has investments in his REIT? Is Kushner stupid enough to make an obviously illegal real estate financial deal with a sanctioned bank? I doubt he's that stupid.  Is Kushner naive in international affairs? Probably. Were the majority of Obama's advisors any less naive? 

Kushner's security clearance. That's the rub, I think.

Did he pass information on as an "act of treason"? Treason, I don't think so. Did he pass on information that shouldn't have been kept secret? Perhaps. Was that an overt act or incompetence due to naiveté? I don't know, it would sure explain the change in security clearance status better than the timing of changes due to the Porter firing.  Should there be an evaluation of that? Yes.  Should it be done by Mueller's team? No. That's my take. 

Comments

[Babak Makkinejad]

2 items.

Akbar means "Greates" or "Most Superior", i.e. a superlative.

Ayatollah Khomeini ruled "taqiyyah" haram, forbidden, verboten.

[j]

Fred,

It all boils down to one thing -- Did Kushner pass Classified CIA Intelligence to MBS outside of normal Classified Intelligence Channels, or not? MBS is claiming he got his 'stuff ' on his enemies directly from Mr.Jared

[j]

Oh, and one thing to note. A person died as a result.

[Fred]

J,

So Kushner's finances don't matter, that is just a prosecutoriral smokescreen being generated on the left. Kushner's IR inexperience doesn't matter. His contact with Russians do not matter. What matters is what the Saudi Crown prince said. You conveniently, again, left out an actual reference to him actually saying anything. Please point me to his public statement, not some horsecrap of an anonymous source.

[Fred]

Babak,

Thanks for the clarification. There are plenty here in the US who want to selectively make portions of our Constitution forbidden.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Are they the same crowd that dragged US into the blood and mud of religious war in Islamdom?
Or are they different?

[Babak Makkinejad]

You do not understand Middle Easterners. Regardless of the truth of the matter, this must be understood as the typical self-aggrandizement of an internally weak man hailing; "Look at me, I am so wealthy/cunning/important to obtain the latest Western product - fast car, fast women, fast jets, fast corvettes, and now intelligence files from the Omnipotent and Omniscient CIA."

[Fred]

Babak,

I thought you were living in Michigan, if you were you would be glad to know Islam is becoming the official religion of the democratic party.

[Babak Makkinejad]

It won't be Shia Islam now, would it? The only Thinking Islam there is.

[Fred]

Babak,

Are Keith Ellison and Louis Farrakhan Shia?

[Babak Makkinejad]

No. There are Shia in Dearborn, close by, if you be willing.

[catherine]

The facts on Kushner makes him 'desperate' for money....which makes him a risk imo for trading WH policy favors for cash infusions in his business.

However what he may have done wouldn't come under the legal definition of treason.

Jared Kushner bought 666 Fifth with Vornado Realty Trust, CEO Steven Roth.
Roth owns 49%, Kushner owns 51%. The 1.2 billon is due in Feb 2019. Kushner has been selling off their apartments to pay their part of the loan interest.
Vornado was the financially strong partner in the deal and has paid their share on the interest and also wants out of the deal. Roth is offering to sell his share to Kushner but experts think he is doing so to force Kushner to come up with financing for the original deal or force Kushner out and when he cant then snap up the building when it goes into foreclosure at destressed price.

The Kushners don't actually own that much real estate--in all their holdings they have only a 2% to 40%, over half are under 10% stake in each building, the majority stakes owned by other developers.

To add their the desperation they have State of Maryland and State of New York lawsuits against them for rental violation and filing false documents. The NY attorney general and the IRS are also investigating Kushner's 'partners in several projects for possible tax evasion and money laundering---probably prompted by the fact that two known partners (Israeli) have already been charged with money laundering in the US. Kushner also under investigation for misuse of EB5 visas.
In 2015 NY passed a law against 'shell companies' not revealing the actual owners so now investigators and IRS can demand info on buyers and investors.

My information on the Kushners finances and holding has come from the WSJ and Bloomberg who are reliable. Here's an example https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-kushner-properties-stakes/

All of this is to show that Kushner is walking a tightrope of financial ruin if he cant get the money for 666.
Whether he gets and gives away secret info or not, the question is would he trade policy favors, foreign or domestic, in return for a bailout of his troubles.

[Fred]

Catherine,

"force Kushner out and when he cant then snap up the building when it goes into foreclosure at destressed price."

I think that's pretty accurate. The States of NY and Maryland became concerned about those rental violations - affecting just which class of tennant? The concern over which arrived right after Trump got elected. That seems no surprise to me given which political party the AG's in those two states are members of.