Mueller probing Kushner’s 2016 attempts to block UNSC settlement resolution
The probe is part of a larger investigation by Mueller into Kushner and his conversations with foreign leaders.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFUpdated: NOVEMBER 22, 2017 23:09White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner arrives for his appearance before a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of their probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. July 24, 2017.(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
Special counsel for the US Department of Justice Robert Mueller is investigating an attempt by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to block the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlement activity, according to The Wall Street Journal.The probe is part of a larger investigation by Mueller into Kushner and his conversations with foreign leaders, including Israelis, during the two-month transition period between the November election and the time that Trump took office.Under the Obama Administration, the United States abstained and was the only one of the 14 countries on the UNSC not to approve the measure in December 2016.But the decision not to use its veto power to block the move, something it did in 2011, was widely seen as a form of tacit approval by the Obama Administration.The Trump team’s opposition was well known at the time. Trump, then president-elect, issued a number of tweets on the matter.“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!” he tweeted.He tweeted again after former US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke against settlement activity and explained the US position on the vote.“We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the US, but...,” Trump wrote.Prior to the election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with both presidential candidates – Trump and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton.
