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
.. Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico
.. H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report.
.. The issue of foreign officials talking about their meetings with Kushner and their perceptions of his vulnerabilities was a subject raised in McMaster’s daily intelligence briefings
.. Kushner’s lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him
.. Officials in the White House were concerned that Kushner was “naive and being tricked”
.. conversations with foreign officials, some of whom said they wanted to deal only with Kushner directly and not more experienced personnel
.. White House officials said McMaster was taken aback by some of Kushner’s foreign contacts.
.. Kushner came to his position with an unusually complex set of business holdings and a family company facing significant debt issues.
.. Officials from the UAE identified Kushner as early as the spring of 2017 as particularly manipulable because of his family’s search for investors in their real estate company
.. Not fully disclosing foreign contacts ordinarily would result in a clearance being denied, experts said.
.. One of his top business concerns was what to do with his family’s investment in 666 Fifth Ave. in New York, which the company bought under his direction for $1.8 billion in 2007, the highest price paid at the time for a U.S. office tower
.. leaving the company with a $1.2 billion debt that comes due in January 2019.
.. The Manhattan property has been a particularly nettlesome problem inside the government because Kushner’s company has sought foreign money on the project.
.. Kushner and his company had proposed a redevelopment plan that would double the building’s size, requiring major new investment.
.. They met with an executive of a Chinese-run insurance company, Anbang
.. They also discussed a possible investment by the former finance minister of Qatar
.. Questions have also been raised about whether Kushner discussed financing with a Russian banker. He met in December 2016 with Sergey Gorkov
.. The bank has said they talked about “promising business lines and sectors,”
.. With the deadline for the $1.2 billion debt looming, the company has continued to search for a lender. The redevelopment plan appears to be on hold
.. The company, which is privately held, has stressed that the Fifth Avenue property is a small fraction of its assets and that it is doing well financially.
Qatar, Defying Deadline, Faces New Threats by Neighbors
Qatar’s opponents are considering telling allies to sever commercial ties with Qatar or else lose business ties with them, according to a person familiar with the matter.
.. U.A.E. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on June 24 that Qatar could be expelled from the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-member political and economic bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
.. Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said Saturday that the 13 demands “were meant to be rejected” and that the country continues to favor dialogue to put an end to the diplomatic dust-up
.. “The short-to-medium term economic impact of the Qatar rift will be expensive for Doha but bearable,” Arabia Monitor said. “Qatar’s reserves can defend the currency, even though the pressure on it could rise further,” it said.
Arab States Drawing Up List of Demands for Qatar
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and their allies are also seeking guarantees that Qatar’s government will stop its alleged financing of Middle East extremist groups and sever relations with the political leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist movement, according to these officials.
.. These Arab states severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday and closed their land and air borders, claiming the gas-rich monarchy was destabilizing the Mideast
.. However, Germany and Turkey made a show of support for Qatar on Wednesday, weighing in on a regional crisis that is beginning to drive a wedge between the U.S. and some of its closest allies.
.. But the Trump administration stressed it needed a clear list of grievances to pass on to Qatar’s leadership, and that Washington wouldn’t necessarily endorse them... Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E, and Egypt, in particular, charge Qatar has used Al Jazeera to try to destabilize their countries. One Arab official said reining in the media network will definitely be among the demands on the list.
Qatar Again Pushes Back on Demands From Arab States
Foreign minister says country doesn’t fear any military retaliation for refusing to meet deadline
Qatar said Saturday it doesn’t fear any military retaliation for refusing to meet a Monday deadline to comply with a list of demands from four Arab states that have imposed a de facto blockade on the Gulf nation... He said any country is free to raise grievances with Qatar, provided they have proof, but said any such conflicts should be worked out through negotiation, not by imposing ultimatums.“We believe that the world is governed by international laws, that don’t allow big countries to bully small countries,” he told a news conference. “No one has the right to issue to a sovereign country an ultimatum.”