The WSJ has broken this new Jared Kushner story which is so bad it’s good. But it’s also so good that it’s bad. First off, let’s go to the hot twitter takes:
NEW: U.S. counterintelligence officials warned Jared Kushner in 2017 that Wendi Deng Murdoch might be using their friendship to further the interests of the Chinese government in America.
Aaand once more: Why does Kushner still have security clearance? https://t.co/ShhkwKhIQ3
â Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) January 15, 2018
What a time to be alive! Murdoch’s wife had affair with Tony Blair, ending their marriage. She’s buds with Javanka. Some US intel think she’s using them for Beijing’s secret bidding. Oh, this story broken by WSJ — Rupert’s paper.https://t.co/M5vwCM7SPJ
â Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) January 15, 2018
How many ridiculous things can one family be tied up in. Also, did FBI give Kushner a warning about his father-in-law? Also wasn’t Wendy rumored to be dating Putin? https://t.co/RfkN7Fxb4n via @WSJ
â Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 15, 2018
There’s just too many good ones to put here, so I’ll end the twitter part of the diary with this one:
Embarrassing how obvious it is to everyone that the country is being run by dupes and marks, all of whom believe themselves to be intelligent. https://t.co/vOw9rVM8pn
â Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) January 15, 2018
and now to the article:
U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch
Officials said the businesswoman could be trying to further Beijing’s interests, people familiar with the matter say
by Kate O’Keeffe and Aruna Viswanatha
WASHINGTON—U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter….
…. The counterintelligence officials didn’t provide Mr. Kushner with details about their assessment of Ms. Murdoch, the people familiar with the interaction said. The warning was part of an effort by national-security officials to highlight to Mr. Kushner, who was new to government, the need to be careful in his dealings with people whose interests may not align with those of the U.S.
and an example of the potential problems? Let’s go back to twitter:
This is incredible â and not just the Wendi Murdoch part. The $100 million Chinese garden at the National Arboretum, deemed a national-security risk because it included a 70-foot-tall tower that could be used for surveillance. What?! https://t.co/tCGalPqcpY via @WSJ
â JamesVGrimaldi (@JamesVGrimaldi) January 15, 2018
So the NSA ultimately said “Nah” on the project, but the overarching theme here is this:
Generally, U.S. counterintelligence officials have been warning of potential attempts by the Chinese government to exploit ethnic Chinese living in the U.S. who have both access to power and family back in China, giving Beijing leverage.
Ms. Murdoch, the daughter of a factory director, came to the U.S. in 1988, studied at Yale University’s business school and later landed a job at News Corp.’s Star TV in Hong Kong, where she met Mr. Murdoch. After marrying the media magnate, Ms. Murdoch helped arrange business deals for News Corp in China and met with top politicians including Jiang Zemin, the Journal previously reported.
Ya gotta love these “dupes and marks” though. We are in such good hands!!!
