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Фурор в Белом доме
Серьезные перетряски происходят в Белом доме. В ответ на поднятую проблему доступа к секретным материалам людей, которым ФБР отказалось утвердить доступ, многие из них лишились этого доступа. Среди них - Джаред Кушнер, который еще недавно регулярно читал доклады разведки президенту и засыпал органы разведки запросами на дополнительную секретную информацию.
More than 30 aides to President Donald Trump have been stripped of access to top secret intelligence, two people familiar with the move said.
The officials have been notified that they will be downgraded to lower-level “secret” interim security clearances, said the two people. None of the officials has been asked to leave the administration and their portfolios on top secret matters will be distributed to other staff members, they said.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is among those officials whose security clearance has been downgraded as a result of the new policy on interim clearances set by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, said another person familiar with the material. The change means that Kushner lost access to some files, including those containing intelligence on foreign leaders and diplomats that can be used to gain an advantage in negotiations, according to a second person, who is familiar with the clearance process.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-28/more-than-30-white-house-aides-said-to-lose-top-secret-clearance
Попутно про Кушнера выяснились два компрометирующих обстоятельства:
1. Из подслушанных разговоров представителей других стран (ОАЭ, Китая, Израиля и Мексики) выяснилось, что они рассчитывали манипулировать Кушнером, пользуясь его нуждой в деньгах. С этими представителями Кушнер часто контактировал наедине в нарушении протокола.
Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports on the matter.
Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said. <...> Officials in the White House were concerned that Kushner was “naive and being tricked” in conversations with foreign officials, some of whom said they wanted to deal only with Kushner directly and not more experienced personnel, said one former White House official.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/kushners-overseas-contacts-raise-concerns-as-foreign-officials-seek-leverage/2018/02/27/16bbc052-18c3-11e8-942d-16a950029788_story.html
2. Выяснилось также, что Кушнер получил крупные займы от американских банкиров, с которыми встречался наедине в Белом доме. Как и в первом случае, прямого доказательства взятки нет, но обстоятельства компрометирующие.
Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House.
Joshua Harris, a founder of Apollo Global Management, was advising Trump administration officials on infrastructure policy. During that period, he met on multiple occasions with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, said three people familiar with the meetings. Among other things, the two men discussed a possible White House job for Mr. Harris.
The job never materialized, but in November, Apollo lent $184 million to Mr. Kushner’s family real estate firm, Kushner Companies. The loan was to refinance the mortgage on a Chicago skyscraper.
Even by the standards of Apollo, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, the previously unreported transaction with the Kushners was a big deal: It was triple the size of the average property loan made by Apollo’s real estate lending arm, securities filings show.
It was one of the largest loans Kushner Companies received last year. An even larger loan came from Citigroup, which lent the firm and one of its partners $325 million to help finance a group of office buildings in Brooklyn.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans.html
Попутно Белый дом покидает Хоуп Хикс, White House Director of Communications. Хикс - не просто один из работников администрации, а человек, особенно приближенный к Трампу и его семье. Она была пресс-секретарем Трампа на протяжении всей его избирательной компании и участвовала в самых тесных обсуждениях в кризисные моменты после этого. Другими словами, она много знает.
Хикс уже давала показания Мюллеру, а за день до оставки провела больше 8 часов, давая показания в Конгрессе за закрытыми дверями.
Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies.
But after extended consultation with her lawyers, she insisted that she had not lied about matters material to the investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to Trump associates, according to three people familiar with her testimony.
The exchange came during more than eight hours of private testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Ms. Hicks declined to answer similar questions about other figures from the Trump campaign or the White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/us/politics/hope-hicks-house-intelligence-committee-testimony.html
С криминальной точки зрения, по меньшей мере пара из эпизодов в недолгой правительственной карьеры Хоуп Хикс могут рассматривается как участие в заговоре с целью помешать правосудию.
1. Через два дня после выборов на вопрос о контактах избирательной кампании Трампа с представителями России Хикс сделала категоричное заявление: "We are not aware of any campaign representatives that were in touch with any foreign entities before yesterday, when Mr. Trump spoke with many world leaders." Ныне история появления этого (теперь уже можно сказать, ложного) заявления стала предметом расследования.
A former Trump campaign aide who has spoken with the special counsel's office said Robert Mueller's team asked about comments made by Hope Hicks during the ex-aide's session with investigators.
This former aide said a comment Hicks made to The New York Times shortly after the election denying that the campaign had ever had contacts with Russian operatives has been raised in sessions with Mueller's team as well as with the House and Senate Intelligence committees.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/28/politics/robert-mueller-hope-hicks/index.html
2. Во время обсуждения того, какими словами сообщать о печально известной встрече с Весельницкой в Trump Tower, Хикс предложила не беспокоиться об емайлах Трампа-младшего, потому что они никогда не увидят свет. Разговор происходил без адвокатов, поэтому не попадает под защиту адвокатской тайны.
Mr. Corallo is planning to tell Mr. Mueller about a previously undisclosed conference call with Mr. Trump and Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, according to the three people. Mr. Corallo planned to tell investigators that Ms. Hicks said during the call that emails written by Donald Trump Jr. before the Trump Tower meeting - in which the younger Mr. Trump said he was eager to receive political dirt about Mrs. Clinton from the Russians - “will never get out.” That left Mr. Corallo with concerns that Ms. Hicks could be contemplating obstructing justice, the people said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/us/politics/trump-russia-hope-hicks-mueller.html