NYT Reporter: Jared Kushner Nearly Put Us Into A War In The Middle East
Jared Kushner almost caused the United States to go to war in the Middle East, according to the author of a new tell-all book about Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump. Vicky Ward, investigative reporter at the New York Times, told CNN’s John Berman that Kushners’ actions endangered the country.
Speaking on CNN’s New Day, Ward discussed her new book Kushner, Inc. which details the rise to power of President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband. Kushner has been given broad responsibilities by Trump. Berman asked Ward why she calls Kushner and Ivanka Trump dangerous.
“Well, let’s start with the fact that instead of solving Middle East peace, Jared nearly put us into a war in the region,” Ward said. “You know, his, you know, taking over control of State Department, basically, taking [former Secretary of State] Rex Tillerson’s portfolio out of his hands, particularly in the middle East, his complete control of the relationship with MBS [Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman] in Saudi Arabia meant that he kind of got played by MBS. He pushed for Trump to hold this – the first official American visit was not to a country with shared democratic values but to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Its brutal regime.”
“The theme of the summit was all about co-operation,” Ward said. “Days later, the Saudis made a mockery of the United States by turning round and blockading, with US support, that Rex Tillerson firmly believed was Jared, they blockaded Qatar, they wanted Qatar’s money.”
“Qatar has an American airbase. That is our security on the line. That was when Rex Tillerson and Jim Mattis, the Defense Secretary, who had no idea about any of this, thought that Jared went from being a really annoying obstacle and meddler to being down right dangerous.”
Berman asked why Ward suggested that Kushner had a financial interest in the Saudi blockade of Qatar.
“So, Charles Kushner had just asked the Qataris for a billion dollars to save their – a building that was a financial catastrophe for the Kushner family,” Ward said. “The Qataris at that point turned him down. And low and behold, our foreign policy turns negative towards them. I’ll have to say that a year later, when the Qataris are offering money, our foreign policy changes. The US now no longer supports the blockade.”
Ward suggested to Special Counsel Robert Mueller has passed information about these issues to other relevant authorities.
Watch the video above, via CNN.
