It is likely that Crown Prince Mohammed would have known who his critics were without Kushner mentioning them, a U.S. government official who declined to be identified pointed out. The crown prince may also have had his own reasons for saying that Kushner shared information with him, even if that wasn’t true. Just the appearance that Kushner did so would send a powerful message to the crown prince’s allies and enemies that his actions were backed by the U.S. government.
One of the people MBS told about the discussion with Kushner was UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, according to a source who talks frequently to confidants of the Saudi and Emirati rulers. MBS bragged to the Emirati crown prince and others that Kushner was “in his pocket,” the source told The Intercept.
Given uncertainties of the actual health of the Kushner family's real estate empire, who knows if horse trading happened?
 |
| ... a ram's horn ... |
Kushner’s unconventional communications with regional leaders excluded diplomats during the summer of 2017, when Saudi Arabia and the UAE initiated an economic blockade aimed at weakening their Gulf neighbor Qatar. Tillerson’s attempts to mediate the crisis were quickly undercut by Trump and Kushner, who supported the blockade. Three State Department officials told The Intercept that Tillerson was largely in the dark about Kushner’s communications with MBS during that period.
Perhaps even a sizable lump-sum purchase of Ivanka brand accessories for the various Saudi wives might have been a topic of what might have been a possibly wide ranging discussion with career U.S. diplomats excluded. Perhaps not.
When the phrase, "more likely than not" comes to mind, how do you figure the chips fell on that circumstantial-inference question of guess how wide ranging the little prince and the Saudi prince talked - and possibly even promised?
Guess whether Kushner business records might be subpoenaed by Mueller, if not now, later as time's arrow moves on.
Food for thought? Food for the Kushners? What?
_____________UPDATE___________
In the item first linked to above, after discussion of 666 Fifth Avenue, closing paragraphs:
“We could not understand why the Trump administration was so firmly taking the Saudis’ side in this dispute between the Saudis, the Emiratis, and Qatar, because the United States has very important interests in Qatar,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told George Stephanopoulos, host of ABC’s “This Week,” after The Intercept reported on Kushner Companies’ efforts to obtain financing from Qatar. Murphy was referring to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, home of U.S. Central Command, where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed.
“If the reason this administration put U.S. troops at risk in Qatar was to protect the Kushners’ financial interests, then that’s all the evidence you need to make some big changes in the White House,” Murphy said.
MBS is in Washington this week. On Tuesday, he was warmly received by Trump, who told reporters that the U.S.-Saudi relationship is “probably the strongest it’s ever been.”
In declining to quote from paragrphs preceding closing commentary, and from the three linked items, the intent is that curious readers will read the items, a hint of what to think over when reading, "February 2019," a date mentioned here and here, so you can hit those links and word search.
If a Blue Wave does happen strong enough to flip both houses of Congress, in November 2018, then February 2019 could truly prove to be a milestone date. One which in parallel might interest the Mueller investigative team. Who knows, there might be some email trail where erasure among all corresponding and cc and bcc parties would be required to fully deep-six it. Perhaps only those with full actual security clearances would be able to see things unfolding prior to that date less than two months into 2019.