In related news, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein's briefed both House and Senate committee members on the investigation that will be led by former FBI Chief Robert Mueller.
Today's big news was that the FBI investigation now includes a possible "cover-up" aspect. The media reports that a senior advisor to Trump who is "close to" Trump, is a significant person of interest in the investigation. Exact words: "The senior White House adviser under scrutiny by investigators is someone close to the president, according to these people, who would not further identify the official."
Who could it be? My first thought was Jared Kushner. A New York Magazine reporter says it is Kushner. The UK's Independent, citing the New York Magazine reporter agrees it's Kushner. (There is only one other senior White House adviser Stephen Miller (policy chief).
Remember when Kushner forgot to include his meetings with Russian officials on his application for a security clearance?
The omissions, which Mr. Kushner’s lawyer called an error, are particularly sensitive given the congressional and F.B.I. investigations into contacts between Russian officials and Trump associates. The Senate Intelligence Committee informed the White House weeks ago that, as part of its inquiry, it planned to question Mr. Kushner about the meetings he arranged with Mr. Kislyak, including the one with Sergey N. Gorkov, a graduate of Russia’s spy school who now heads Vnesheconombank.
....In a statement, [Kushner lawyer]Ms. [Jamie] Gorelick said that after learning of the error, Mr. Kushner told the F.B.I.: “During the presidential campaign and transition period, I served as a point-of-contact for foreign officials trying to reach the president-elect. I had numerous contacts with foreign officials in this capacity. … I would be happy to provide additional information about these contacts.” No names were disclosed in that correspondence.
As Charles Pierce wrote at the time this news broke, "[W]ho among us hasn't forgotten about the times we met Russian spies who own banks."
This Reuters article on the nature of the contacts between Flynn and the Russians is pretty damning:
Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters.
...Six of the previously undisclosed contacts described to Reuters were phone calls between Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, and Trump advisers, including Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser, three current and former officials said.
Conversations between Flynn and Kislyak accelerated after the Nov. 8 vote as the two discussed establishing a back channel for communication between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could bypass the U.S. national security bureaucracy, which both sides considered hostile to improved relations, four current U.S. officials said.
...In addition to the six phone calls involving Kislyak, the communications described to Reuters involved another 12 calls, emails or text messages between Russian officials or people considered to be close to Putin and Trump campaign advisers.
The White House has acknowledged four meetings between Kisylak and Trump associates:
...Kislyak had met twice with then-Senator Jeff Sessions, who later became attorney general.
Kislyak also attended an event in April where Trump said he would seek better relations with Russia. Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also attended that event in Washington. In addition, Kislyak met with two other Trump campaign advisers in July on the sidelines of the Republican convention.
Kushner didn't just acknowledge attending the same event as Kislyak in April, according to McClatchy, he acknowledged meeting with him in late November.
The White House also has acknowledged that Kushner met with Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., in late November. Kushner also has acknowledged that he met with the head of a Russian development bank, Vnesheconombank, which has been under U.S. sanctions since July 2014.
Vanity Fair today on Jared's role in planning the Trump Family jaunt to the Middle East:
Kushner, a 36-year-old real-estate scion with no former political experience, has been briefing the president, a 70-year-old real-estate scion with no former political experience and little taste for briefings, ahead of his sit-downs with dozens of heads of state.
Jared should have stayed with real estate. The White House is not the place for those still riding bikes with training wheels.
In other Trump news, the Washington Post reports Trump insisted on cutting short his visit to Israel's Holocaust Museum. He will be there for a total of 15 minutes.
A visit to Jerusalem’s impressive Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, was also cut short at Trump’s request. Local press reports say he’s scheduled to drop by for just 15 minutes, despite requests that he spend much longer. That is barely enough time to sign a guest book.
It's hard to think of anyone more tone-deaf than Donald Trump.
