This is out of the blue and I’m trying to make sense of it on the fly.
Lowell is no dummy but he’s not god’s gift either. I don’t think he would’ve allowed his client to be interviewed except on questions and topics where he was a witness and where he could make statements that were truthful and not inculpatory. That said, there’s no way you go into a Mueller q&a and come out without telling the entire story, even if you have your lawyer beside you. These guys are that good. “He answered every question” could mean ‘he gave an answer to every question’ even if that answer was ‘I exercise my privilege against self-incrimination’, or ‘I won’t answer until you say the magic word’.
The thing about Lowell is if you go through his list of high profile clients, a lot of them were indicted: Menendez, Edwards, Abramoff, Rostenkowski, McDade, Keating and a number pleaded guilty and served time.
They’re looking to see whether there was collusion with Russia in the in the campaign, and whether or not anybody in the campaign was involved, and if that violated any law,” Lowell said. “And they’re looking at this broad topic that they call, or the media calls, obstruction of justice
This quote is basically vapor. It points to two topics that are so broadly construed when we know Mueller asks questions across several specific topic areas with great specificity. Something is amiss here. Lowell isn’t telling the full story and is being intentionally obfuscatory.
It’s quite possible Kushner entered into some type of cooperation agreement. What strikes me as odd is that Kushner was talking with Mueller over the same period that Trump has been fiercely resisting talking to Mueller. That seems like something Trump wouldn’t want to see happen. Lowell is smart enough to know that if Kushner goes in there and lies, his client is done. If Kushner told the truth, then that’s trouble for Trump. Did Trump know that Kushner talked to Mueller? Are there interests necessarily aligned? Did the fall of the Cohen-Broidy-Nader axis give an opening to Kushner to cut deals with Qatar and free himself of debt? Did he just play his father in law like a fiddle?
I’m sort of thinking out loud here, but that’s what my initial thoughts are.
Some new reporting says that the security clearance was approved by the WH office. This didn’t come from the FBI. It means that Trump overrode prior concerns raised by intel and Kelly. Kelly has been weakened for a few months and Kushner made his move.
I also think the failure of the Cohen-Broidy-Nader axis put Kushner as the primary vehicle through which foreign governments attempt to bribe Trump. That made his security clearance more valuable to Trump. Picture is clearer now.
My belief is that trump ordered the clearance to allow Jared access to whatever else might add to the filthy luchre of the trump org and then fast track anything in the pipeline which can be capitalized upon.
They know the end is very close, so it’s a bum rush on any opportunities.
That, plus their upside is full blow fascism; Germany didn’t go Nazi overnight, 6 years of slowly grinding got it done. Things happen at an accelerated pace these days, keep both eyes and ears open.
PS - I know some of the above may sound a little CT, but read about those in Germany circa 1933-1939 - it was a slow erosion of norms that blinded them. How many times has the term unprecedented (in a negative connotation) been used on this administration…
Did Kushner get called back in by Mueller or did he and Lowell suddenly realize that some previous answers needed some “clarification “ and that he remembered more than he thought? “Mr. Mueller, would you have some time to talk with me again?”
“He has been restored in a permanent clearance to get all the material that he needs, and all the material that he got in the past in order to do the job the President has asked him to do,”
means to me that JK’s clearance is limited in some way. It is not Full clearance.
He’s more than a “witness” because of his desire for a Russian backchannel, as you say. But also because of his presence at the June, 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian agents. The one where he allegedly became quite agitated when he realized he wasn’t going to get the dirt on Hillary that day. Not to mention the Qataris bailing him out of a huge debt on 666 5th Avenue. I’m sure Mueller wants the backstory on that.
For what it’s worth. Looks like Daddy Taintbucks overrode. According to Rep. Beyer:
Today the White House and Jared Kushner’s representatives are saying that the decision to grant Mr. Kushner’s clearance was made by career personnel, and that this decision was the deserved outcome of an above-board process.
The claim that Kushner’s clearance was granted by ‘career’ personnel and not the White House contradicts the FBI, which told us "the granting or suspension of Mr. Kushner’s clearance would be the responsibility of the client adjudication entity, in this case, the White House"2/
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