Israeli efforts to ‘leverage’ Kushner weakness contributed to clearance downgrade
Kushner is leading the Trump administration’s efforts to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as trade negotiations with Mexico.
By MICHAEL WILNERUpdated: MARCH 2, 2018 04:55President Donald Trump passes his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner during a Hanukkah Reception at the White House(photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)
WASHINGTON – Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law leading a White House effort to forge Middle East peace, has lost his access to top secret information because of foreign government efforts to influence him.H.R. McMaster, the president’s national security adviser, was briefed on efforts by Israeli and Mexican officials to leverage Kushner’s perceived vulnerabilities, including his business entanglements, his debt and his lack of foreign policy experience, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.Kushner is leading the Trump administration’s efforts to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as trade negotiations with Mexico.Officials from China and the United Arab Emirates also discussed ways to manipulate the senior adviser, the Washington Post reported.Without Top Secret clearance, Kushner will no longer have access to some of the US government’s most highly classified intelligence, including the president’s daily briefing – a document he once read each morning.Kushner has been working for more than a year on an interim security clearance, putting together a detailed plan for Israeli-Palestinian talks.But leading that peace process also requires Kushner to produce highly classified intelligence on a daily basis, current and former administration officials tell The Jerusalem Post. The White House insists that the new clearance decision, made by chief of staff John Kelly, will not affect Kushner’s work with either Israel or Mexico.
