Report: Some Of Trump’s Lawyers Wanted Kushner To Step Down

Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, arrives to a swearing in ceremony of White House senior staff in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Trump earlier today mo... Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, arrives to a swearing in ceremony of White House senior staff in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. Trump earlier today mocked protesters who gathered for large demonstrations across the U.S. and the world on Saturday to signal discontent with his leadership, but later offered a more conciliatory tone, saying he recognized such marches as a "hallmark of our democracy." Credit: Andrew Harrer / Pool via CNP - NO'WIRE'SERVICE'- Photo by: Andrew Harrer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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Some of the lawyers on President Donald Trump’s outside legal team handling matters related to the Russia probe decided this summer that Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to Trump, should resign from his role at the White House, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The lawyers felt Kushner should step down because he had several meetings with Russian officials before Trump took office and because he initially failed to disclose those meetings, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The attorneys took their concerns to the president, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal, but two members of the legal team were unable to confirm this to the newspaper. Trump did not believe that Kushner needed to leave the White House, per the report.

John Dowd, who now leads Trump’s outside legal team, told the Journal that some of the attorneys held this view of Kushner, but that he disagreed with their assessment. He also told the Journal that he was not aware those lawyers aired their concerns to the President.

“I didn’t agree with that view at all. I thought it was absurd,” Dowd said. “I made my views known.”

Marc Kasowitz, who left his role leading Trump’s outside legal team in July, denied that he had any involvement in a recommendation to the President that Kushner should go.

“I never discussed with other lawyers for the President that Jared Kushner should step down from his position at the White House, I never recommended to the President that Mr. Kushner should step down from that position and I am not aware that any other lawyers for the President made any such recommendation either,” he said in a statement to the Journal.

Read the full report here.

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Notable Replies

  1. Sounds like the “outside legal team” may not have appreciated Jared “Full Metal Jackass” Kushner’s selfless attempt to vet Hillary’s fitness for office. Not very patriotic of them.

  2. No way Jared goes. Trump is running out of stupid people he trusts in the WH. Thank Kelly.

  3. Much as I would love to see Jarvanka gone, they are, however unwittingly, a force for the good – because they keep giving Donnie such crap advice and he’s stupid enough to follow it, because he trusts them. And then he gets slammed.

    My next prediciton is that most of those lawyers who recommended this will be gone before Jarvanka. Disloyalty, you know.

  4. Leaving the WH would put a serious crimp in Kushner´s business model. The perception of influence is far and away his main asset at this point.

  5. That’s right, Donnie, you keep ignoring the advice of your attorneys because that’s your winning strategy and ticket out of the massive storm brewing.

    And this storm is still gaining strength and is guaranteed to make landfall. But you know best.

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