Democracy Now...
Kushner, Inc.: Vicky Ward on How Jared and Ivanka’s Greed & Ambition Compromise U.S. Foreign Policy

House Democrats are continuing to probe how President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner received a top-secret security clearance despite concerns from the CIA. The New York Times recently reported Trump ordered then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to grant Kushner the clearance despite the judgment of intelligence officials. Kushner failed to report over 100 foreign contacts on his initial application for clearance, which was denied by the FBI after a background check into his financial history and contacts with foreign investors. Kushner later revised his application three times, and was ultimately granted permanent security clearance last May.

We speak with Vicky Ward, the author of a new book uncovering details about how Kushner has continued to let the financial dealings of his family impact the policy decisions he promoted overseas. In one case, this almost led to a war in the Middle East between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The book is called “Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.”

Sample from transcript.. I. mean. verbally racing over the details ... immediately submerges into so many simultaneous Con Jobs involving the whole Orange Circus Troupe that you'd have to read the transcript later, to start your own Venn ..then add overlays for each 'stop'. Nobody could make this up.

[. . .]
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s begin there. I mean, it may sound a little odd to talk about the senior adviser to President Trump, Jared Kushner, and how he almost started a war in the Middle East, by asking you about a New York City skyscraper, a New York City building.

VICKY WARD: You’re exactly right, though, to make—

AMY GOODMAN: *666 Fifth Avenue.

VICKY WARD: You’re exactly right to make the connection. So, the Kushners have this albatross around them. In the book, I sort of think of 666 Fifth Avenue as like the Maltese Falcon. It’s just always there, and sort of all roads, when it comes to Jared’s policymaking, lead back to this money pit, this disastrous investment, where a loan of $1.4 billion is coming due in February of 2019, and no American lender will touch it with a 50-foot pole, which means the Kushners need foreign investment. You know, tricky when it’s a family business, and the son is now senior adviser to the president. The Qataris told the Kushners in the spring of 2017, when Jared was already in government—Charlie Kushner asked for over a billion dollars; they turned Charlie Kushner, Jared’s father, down.

So, bearing that in mind, Jared has a new best friend in the Middle East, who also has money: MBS, the future crown prince—he wasn’t crown prince yet—of Saudi Arabia. And these two form a bond that really alarms Rex Tillerson, the secretary of state, and James Mattis, the secretary of defense, because Jared and MBS cut out all the national security officials who should be looped in onto their communications, cut out everyone in the State Department. You know, these are systems we’ve had in place to protect our security and our government for decades. And Rex Tillerson, who, you know, was very experienced in the region—

AMY GOODMAN: The former secretary of state.

[. . .]

* 666 ... what Can one say? Lots more in this interview, including the 99-year lease for $B 1.3..
Just figure in what you'd guessed these grifters were up to: then 5X? X10?? ___???
Call Me Insatiable (un published love song of this pair.)

One must hope that the House Dems take time to turn over All the rocks ..documented.
What comes after surreal?

with this--early-on--Reply (rather classy, I thought/no swear words nor LOCK HIM UP...s):

tomfrommaine
4 hours ago
Mr. Kushner, the opinion here seems to be that your narrative -- the subjective and unverifiable rebuttal of a controversial felon -- has no place amidst the fine journalism of the Washington Post. I humbly disagree, and believe that platforms such as this one sometimes have the responsibility to host perspectives such as yours. After all, when the national conversation roils someone's interests and reputation, how can they join and substantiate it without access to a national media outlet?

So, if you were in fact caught up in a national conversation without the means to participate, WaPo's decision to publish this would be totally appropriate. But you're not; I can't convey this as well as, say, Carly Simon, but Charles, this song isn't about you. To a certain degree, it's about your son and his wife, and the privileged and insular upbringing that got them here. But it's mostly about our anger at your son for complying with this era's most brazen act of nepotism, smugly taking on the responsibility of entire departments, and having nothing to show for it over two years later.

Now, as you and your precious empire become media subjects, your conceit leads you to believe that you're being truly considered, and then maligned. Sorry, no, the American People don't care at all about 666 5th Ave., we're just using it as a punching bag while Jared denies us access and satisfaction. You see, a competent and decent public servant would engage his critics and give them the information they deserve, but as he ignores us instead, we merely contemplate holding you accountable for creating the monster.

So why then were you granted space on these hard drives? Perhaps as the paper reports on the college admission scandal, it thought what better way to tell that story than to find someone vain, entitled, and tone-deaf enough to swoop in with some thin excuses and try to cover up their kid's mess. I would have thought such a patsy too hard to find, but...well played, editors.

Maybe erase Fact-bearers in some characteristic manner or ^{a Way beyond?}
..mere character assassination of psychopathic-kind.

miserorum hominum miserrima cum uentis;
Wretched men do wretched things when cornered.

Read more replies, like adreed's:

Identifying Charles Kushner as a businessman and principal of Kushner Companies without ever bothering to identify him as a convicted felon who was sent to prison for TEN YEARS by a fellow right-wing Republican, Chris Christie, during eh Bush Administration is a failure of journalism.

Allowing him the space to defend his son's likely treason against the United States -- giving secret, literally top-secret information to his pals Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed, which likely brought about the assassination and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist and legal U.S. resident, Adnan Kashoggi -- is a failure of ethics and honor.

Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Cha! Ch..CHA!!

er, the Cha. Cha. Cha. which defines the dis-U.S. in. so. many. Ways.
..in all the {important} aspects of government via the lazy-minded, disinterested--vastly-iggerant "Consumer"
of endless-Stuff-obsessionnn..nn

---

Book: Amusing Ourselves to Death, recently heard of.. kinda covers it, no? Ya don't even need to Read it to grok-to-Fullness...
.... (and 'course most Muricans don't read books anyway), 'cept Escapist potboilers with lotsa Guns-in-action.

What If ..The Cosmos It-'self': turns out to be run by a Giant Reptile Brain™ -??- kinda like the ancient Star Trek skit wherein:
a planet is Techno-dreamed-up by a narsty child who fancies self a Military Honcho. Hijacks the crew.
..and serves up a feast of {cardboard-tasting) crap. (Eventually, 'Daddy' calls the tyke home for a spanking.)


er, What do "we" spank?