TPM - Marshall - "With Kushner Revelations, The Worst Case Scenario Comes Into View"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/with-kushner-revelations-the-worst-case-scenario-comes-into-view

By JOSH MARSHALL Published MAY 30, 2017 12:01 PM

In the roiling controversies surrounding Jared Kushner and the broader Trump/Russia probe, yesterday’s article in the Times was the first to get at what is likely the underlying story.

Consider these two key passages …

Yet one current and one former American official with knowledge of the continuing congressional and F.B.I. investigations said they were examining whether the channel was meant to remain open, and if there were other items on the meeting’s agenda, including lifting sanctions that the Obama administration had imposed on Russia in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its aggression in Ukraine.

During the Trump administration’s first week, administration officials said they were considering an executive order to unilaterally lift the sanctions, which bar Americans from providing financing to and could limit borrowing from Mr. Gorkov’s bank, Vnesheconombank. Removing the sanctions would have greatly expanded the bank’s ability to do business in the United States.

…

In March, Mr. Gorkov said in a statement that his December meeting with Mr. Kushner was part of the bank’s strategy to discuss promising trends and sectors with influential financial institutions in Europe, Asia and the United States. That statement said he met with representatives of “business circles of the U.S., including with the head of Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner.” At the time, Mr. Kushner was still running the company, which is his family’s real estate business.

We’ve heard it claimed that this secret channel to Moscow Kushner and Flynn wanted to set up was to discuss the situation in Syria. That is simply not plausible. At least it couldn’t have been just about Syria as there are numerous legitimate ways to do that. If the conversations were about Syria and ISIS, which I find dubious, they must have included other topics which had to be hidden from the US government, the intelligence agencies and US military.

snip


Best paragraph, near the end

"I would argue that an explicit quid pro quo or specific acts of collusion are almost beside the point. Trump is pushing a policy which is inimical to American interests (in my view and I think the view of many others) and aligns entirely with Russia’s key strategic goals. Precisely why this is happening strikes me as a second order concern."

[underpants]

1. I'll admit it - I had to look up "inimical"

tending to obstruct or harm.
"actions inimical to our interests"
synonyms: harmful, injurious, detrimental, deleterious, prejudicial, damaging, hurtful, destructive, ruinous, pernicious; More
unfriendly; hostile.
"an inimical alien power"
synonyms: harmful, injurious, detrimental, deleterious, prejudicial, damaging, hurtful, destructive, ruinous, pernicious; More

[The Blue Flower]

2. It's related to the word 'enemy'

nt