It’s obvious that President Trump, some in his administration, and some of his campaign advisors, have been extraordinarily secretive and appear to have criminality to hide.
“During a secret meeting in Trump Tower less than 2 weeks after Trump was elected, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, to discuss setting up a secret and secure communications link between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin -- in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring by intelligence agencies, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports. The link would be through the Russian embassy.
“The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
“Although Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushner’s apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary, according to current and former intelligence officers.
“What could Kushner (or his father-in-law) have wanted to talk to the Kremlin (or Putin himself) about just 10 days after the election and a month and a half before assuming office – without anyone else knowing? What did they have to hide?
“Sort of makes you wonder,” -- Robert Reich
Moreover, apparently former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian Ambassador to the United Stares Sergey Kislyak discussed arranging a meeting between a Trump representative and a Russian contact in a third country.
The Washington Post reported that Erik Prince, the former founder of Blackwater private security firm and an informal adviser to Trump’s transition team, met nine days before Trump’s inauguration with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And Trump’s advisers Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon were secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. Former President Barack Obama’s White House learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leader’s name on a flight manifest.
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By Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous, and Greg Miller
