Qatar has damaging information on Kushner, report

NEW YORK, 14 May. - (ANA) - Qatari officials have evidence of "illicit influence" by the United Arab Emirates on U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, ABC News reported Monday.

However, the report added that the UAE has decided not to give the information to special counsel Robert Mueller.

The bombshell allegation comes on the heels of a March NBC report claiming federal investigators are looking into whether Kushner's business talks with foreigners, as Trump assumed the U.S. presidency, later influenced White House policy.

Mueller asked witnesses about Kushner's attempts to secure financing for his family's real estate ventures, focusing specifically on his talks with people from Qatar and Turkey, as well as Russia, China and the UAE, NBC News said.

In the latest report, NBC said that according to new sources, Qatar has damaging information about a December 2016 meeting between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE and Trump officials at Trump Tower – including Kushner, then-incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn and then-incoming chief strategist Steve Bannon.

NBC cited unnamed sources familiar with Mueller's investigation, as well as witnesses who have been interviewed by Mueller's team. The special counsel is looking at Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether there was any collusion with the Trump campaign.

Kushner's family-run real estate company unsuccessfully tried to seek financing from Qatar's investment fund for its deeply troubled New York City property a month before Kushner backed a blockade on the Gulf kingdom, the Intercept reported on Friday. The same allegation surfaced during the summer of 2017, but has returned to the fore as Kushner is dogged by allegations he abused his White House role for personal gain.  - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 14 May 2018 - - -