Congress Investigating If Kushner Was Vulnerable To Russian Influence Because Of Financial Trouble
Congress Now Investigating Whether Russians Had Financial Leverage Over Kushner.
According to a new report, Congress is now investigating whether Donald Trump’s son-in-law was vulnerable to Russian influence during the campaign because of financial stress he faced over an over-leveraged real estate investment.
As ABC News reports, “The timing of Kushner’s December meeting with executives from VneshEconomBank, or VEB, at the suggestion of the Russian ambassador, has also raised concerns from government watchdog groups across the political spectrum.”
Kushner, it has been widely reported, borrowed $1.3 billion to buy a New York City skyscraper. Those loan are now coming due in the two years and the building is not bringing in enough rental income to pay the loans back.
Intelligence experts point out that people in financial stress are particularly vulnerable to influence and blackmail from foreign adversaries.
It is also important to remember that Kushner met with the head of state-run Russian bank that is currently under sanctions from the United States. And that bank has a long history of taking on Vladimir Putin’s special projects.
The ABC News report quotes Congresswoman Jackie Speier saying “It’s very peculiar that of all the people he could be talking to in a transition period where you’ve got lots of balls in the air, that you end up talking to a Russian banker who is under sanction and who is related to Putin and has a KGB background.”
“I think the question has to be asked, was this about you trying to get financing for your troubled real estate that you have in New York City?” Speier continued.
Congressman Adam Schiff also was quoted saying “This bank is of particular concern, because of course it’s the subject of sanctions, but also because Gorkov, the head of this bank, comes out of a school essentially for Russian spies. He’s someone that allegedly is very close to Putin, and I don’t think if this was made at the suggestion as alleged by Ambassador Kislyak, I don’t think the choice of Gorkov or this bank was any kind of coincidence.”
