Kushner worried about scope of Mueller’s Russia probe

Jared Kushner has been left unnerved by the increasingly wide scope of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, according to a new report this week.

In the wake of indictments against former senior Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, the president’s son-in-law is worried that the investigation could short-circuit Donald Trump’s time in the Oval Office.

‘Do you think they’ll get the president?’ Jared asked a friend, according to a person briefed on the conversation who spoke to Vanity Fair. 

Kushner’s concerns appear to be justified, particularly after it was reported on Thursday that a longtime Trump ally may be ready to cooperate with the investigation.

Jared Kushner has been left unnerved by the increasingly wide scope of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, according to a new report this week. Kushner is seen above in Beijing on November 9

Lawyers for Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, have told Trump’s legal team they can no longer discuss a probe into Russian meddling in the US election, indicating Flynn may be cooperating with the investigation, The New York Times reported on Thursday. 

Flynn is a central figure in Mueller’s federal investigation into whether Trump aides colluded with Russia to boost his 2016 presidential campaign. 

In comments to The Washington Post, Trump attorney Jay Sekulow was quoted as saying the move was ‘not entirely unexpected’ and added: ‘No one should draw the conclusion that this means anything about General Flynn cooperating against the president.’

The probe has hung over the White House since January, when US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the election to try to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit her.

Russia has denied interfering in the US election and Trump has said there was no collusion.

Michael Flynn

Robert Mueller

Kushner’s concerns appear to be justified, particularly after it was reported on Thursday that a longtime Trump ally may be ready to cooperate with the investigation. Mike Flynn (left) has cut ties with Trump’s lawyers, a sign that he may be cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s (right) investigation

Kushner is also reportedly being encouraged by Trump to take his wife, Ivanka Trump, and their three young children and return to New York. 

Vanity Fair reports that the president is concerned that the couple are being hit with too much negative press from the Russia investigation. 

Three people who have spoken to the president say he’s asked Jared and Ivanka to go home. 

‘He keeps pressuring them to go,’ one source close to Jared told the magazine. 

But the reason for sending the couple back to Big Apple could be two-fold because they no longer have much to do at the White House. 

Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman spoke with a half dozen Trump advisers, current and former West Wing officials and Republicans close to the administration who revealed that Chief of Staff John Kelly has significantly reduced Jared’s role. 

‘Kelly has clipped his wings,’ one high-level Republican close to the White House told the magazine.  

Sources also told the magazine that Jared's (left) role in the White House has been significantly reduced since John Kelly (right) became chief of staff

Sources also told the magazine that Jared’s (left) role in the White House has been significantly reduced since John Kelly (right) became chief of staff

When Kelly was appointed to the role in July, he sought to rein the president in, ending the Oval Office’s open door policy for Jared.

He also hacked away at Jared’s responsibilities in the administration, which at one point included restructuring the government, reforming the VA, ending the opioid epidemic, nurturing a relationship with China and brokering peace in the Middle East.

Under Kelly, Jared is now mainly focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

And two people who spoke to Sherman said that even there he is disappointing Kelly. 

Kelly was apparently upset with Jared’s trip to Saudia Arabia last month, which happened just days before 32-year-old Prince Alwaleed bin Talal arrested 11 royals.

Bin Talal said that the arrests were for corruption but others say it was a power grab for the king-in-waiting. 

During Jared’s trip, the two stayed up to nearly 4am ‘planning strategy’ which Kelly thought gave the impression that the administration not only knew about the purge beforehand, but might have had helped plan it. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has denied this.

And it’s not just Kelly that’s been let down by Jared. Even the president has expressed displeasure with his son-in-law’s political advice, according to Republicans who have spoken to Trump. 

That advice reportedly includes firing FBI Director James Comey (which Jared denies) and backing losing Alabama GOP candidate Luther Strange (though it saved Trump from initially endorsing the now-controversial Roy Moore). 

Sending Jared away may be Trump’s way of trying to downplay the Russia investigation, as it nears closer to the White House.

Last week, the Senate revealed that Jared had not turned over emails relating to Wikileaks, something his attorney denies.  

 

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