U.S. counterintelligence officials told White House senior adviser Jared Kushner in early 2017 that Wendi Murdoch may be leveraging her relationship with him to help advance the interests of the Chinese government, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday night, citing people familiar with the matter.
Officials were worried that Wendi Murdoch was lobbying for a Chinese garden at the National arboretum in Washington, D.C., according to the Wall Street Journal. The Obama administration originally backed the plans for the garden, but changed its stance over concerns that a tower planned for the garden could be used for surveillance, per the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesman for Murdoch told the Wall Street Journal that she is unaware of the FBI having concerns about her and has no knowledge of the planned garden.
The officials who delivered the warned to Kushner did not give him details about their concerns about Murdoch, the Journal reported. Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, was not present for the warning, according to the Journal. A spokesman for Kushner and Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the warning about Murdoch came as part of a “routine senior staff security briefing.”
Kushner and Trump have been friends with Murdoch for years. Wendi Murdoch used to be married to Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corp.
Read the Wall Street Journal’s full report here.
Jared Kushner : Dude, have you seen my IOUs lately ?
So, like, who cares? Kushner and his in-laws are already in hock to Putin and his people, what’s one more? I mean, once you’re on the take, can you get more dishonest?
And it’s no surprise to learn that Wendi has denied everything. Because, well, if she were involved in such things, she’d, of course, immediately cop to it. Just like that Russian lawyer who only wanted to “talk about adoptions” did…
And there’s a problem with this? I mean, isn’t that what you do - use people and your relationship with them to get what you want? It’s all transactional, and if Murdoch and China comes out ahead of the U.S., but the Kushners get what they need,…it’s all good, right?
Jared/Ivanka: Proof positive that inherited wealth does not confer inherited intelligence and wisdom. One well was dry.