Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka, son-in-law to Donald, who works as an adviser to Donald Trump, and has obtained a top-secret security clearance under questionable circumstances and against the advice of senior national security officials, sat for a rare interview with journalist Jonathan Swan on Axios on HBO. The interview provided a series of absolutely cringeworthy quotes, beginning with the admission that he could not say whether or not he would contact the FBI if Russia contacted the Trump campaign again with offers to help. This is a question with a really simple answer, and one that’s required by law, given his security clearance. In short, the answer Kushner did give is reason enough to pull that clearance.
Take a listen.
Hello, Houston? We have a problem. Hats off to Swan for not letting Kushner off the hook and for noting that the email Kushner was referring to had Russia right there in the subject line! Kushner’s only defense is that meeting with someone representing a foreign adversary is A-OK because the meeting didn’t provide enough dirt on Hillary Clinton? Disgraceful. Even worse, he cannot say that he would contact the FBI in the future if such an offer of help from Russia were repeated, as should be required for anyone with his level of clearance, or frankly, anyone involved in a political campaign at all. He accepted and participated in a meeting with a foreign country to thwart legal elections in the United States.
But that wasn’t the only failed part of the interview. As you can hear below, Kushner’s responses to Swan’s questions about Donald Trump’s racism were epically awful.
Kushner: Trump’s not a racist.
Swan: Here are the receipts.
Kushner: I wasn’t involved in that.
On whether the failson-in-law will be able to accomplish his biggest assignment from Trump—peace in the Middle East—Kushner didn’t seem to understand why the Palestinians have no trust in Kushner. Once again, Swan brought the facts, and Kushner was caught flat-footed, saying, “I’m not here to be trusted.” Bruh, nobody is signing any kind of a peace deal with someone who flat-out says it isn’t his job to be trustworthy!
Finally, Swan asked about Kushner’s friendship with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who ordered the gruesome murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Listen to Swan lay out the facts about Kushner’s buddy:
Kushner’s response? He’s still waiting for the facts, even though the CIA has been crystal clear that Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder. From Axios:
- Asked whether he would join Khashoggi's fiancée in calling on the Saudi government to release his body (or identify where they put the body parts) so that his family might bury him, Kushner said: "Look, it's a horrific thing that happened. … Once we have all the facts, then we'll make a policy determination, but that would be up to the Secretary of State to push on our policy."
Hats off to Axios and Jonathan Swan for the interview. It’s rare to hear from Kushner, and his answers here show just how blatantly unqualified he is for his role in the White House. His security clearance should be pulled now and forever.