On Saturday President Trump came home to face a worsening political and legal crisis. His staff were trying to reign in the chaos created by media reports that his son-in-law, #Jared Kushner, has become a key focus of investigations into whether there was collusion between Trump's campaign and #Russia during the 2016 election and the transition.
Even though President Trump was away in Europe for the #Group of 7 summit in Italy, and before that meeting with Muslim leaders in the Middle East, back home a crisis was brewing as the fallout from FBI director James Comey's firing and the investigation into Russia collusion came into national focus.
G7 summit trip ends and Trump rushes home
Ending his nine-day trip, one of the most successful periods of his presidency according to his aides, the crisis back home had only grown in Trump's absence. He had a presidential trip to Iowa schedule for following weeks, one that the White House canceled; he was also was amassing a damage-control portfolio to expand the scope and breadth of the #president’s legal team. There were also plans to reshuffle his much-needed communications staff and the necessity of fighting a growing scandal has not only jeopardized his agenda but now threatens to sink and perhaps even take down his entire family.
Private legal meetings with political law experts
The #president's private legal team prepared to take meetings in Washington to deal with and strategize on various new questions about contacts between the Trump campaign and associates during the transition and the election periods, particularly in regards to Mr Kushner and the official representatives of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
According to sources quoted by the New York Times, Trump may even meet with Mr Kasowitz as soon as Sunday morning or afternoon. Trump's aides, meanwhile, have enlisted a collection of prominent DC lawyers, each of whom have vast and deep experience in #political investigations. The idea was that Trump would interview them in the hopes of having them join his legal team.
Kushner keeping a low profile
Mr Kushner, meanwhile, has returned to Washington thus cutting his trip with the President to the #Middle East short. He has been keeping a very low profile and has not being speaking to the press or to political aides, but according to sources he doesn’t have any plans to step down from his current role as senior adviser.
Neither does he plan on reducing his duties to the #White House.
The media on Friday reported that there have been telltale signs that he is growing disillusioned with the #nonstop combat that has circled the White House, as well as the damage to his previously sterling reputation. He made no long-term commitment to remain in Washington by the president's side he told some friends, saying he and his wife #Ivanka Trump had chosen to review their life every six months, deciding whether they would return to their previously private life in New York.
The crisis however doesn’t stop at Mr Kushner’s troubles. White House chief of staff, #Reince Priebus and chief strategist #Stephen Bannon also left the Middle East and Europe trip early to return back to Washington to deal with the political blast erupting over James Comey's firing from the FBI, as well as the Russia issue.
Reports surfaced in The Washington Post last week that Kushner had been in verbal contact with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, back in December. According to sources, they had talked about setting up a secret channel between Trump's transition team and Moscow to discuss the war in Syria and other issues. As well as appearing in the Washington Post, three separate people confirmed this information to The New York Times.
