JRL NEWSBLOG: “Kushner Foreign Policy Role Grew After Kissinger Lunch” – Bloomberg/Caleb Melby, David Kocieniewski, Gerry Smith
“… Henry Kissinger, the center’s honorary chairman … gave a talk that included analyzing U.S.-Russia relations for a small group of attendees. [Trump son-in-law Jared] Kushner … introduced himself to Kissinger …. [and] met Dimitri Simes … long-time president of the center and publisher of its magazine, The National Interest. Questions have … been raised about the center for its board members’ ties to Russia, as well as its own 2015 interactions with Maria Butina …. * * * As Kushner planned Trump’s April speech, he relied on Simes for the guest list. Richard Burt, one of the organization’s directors and a lobbyist for Russia’s Gazprom, helped write the speech. … Trump called for easing tensions with Russia. ‘Common sense says this cycle, this horrible cycle of hostility must end and ideally will end soon,’ Trump said. ‘Good for both countries.’ …”