jared kushner just can't catch a break right now. He's in the midst of having his business negotiations being examined by the special counsel and now he's in the headlines for a different matter altogether. While the latest scandal he's alleged to have a hand isn't a probe, it certainly doesn't help his image. President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser apparently had something to do with information three sources leaked to New York magazine.
Donald Trump is square in the middle of a feud with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" hosts, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezinski.
The president tweeted some outrageous messages at the couple for their reporting of his presidency by lashing out at Brezinski in particular. He said she was "bleeding badly from a facelift" when he saw her in January at Mar-a-Lago. He also attacked "Morning Joe" as fake news and as having low ratings.
Jared told Joe to apologize
The tweets erupted into a firestorm and resulted in Joe and Mika disclosing in a Washington Post op-ed that Trump officials "blackmailed" them over a tabloid story that was to be run in the National Enquirer. After the inauguration reporting on Trump turned extremely negative by the news hosts and Trump wanted it stopped. The couple hadn't gone public with their romance yet and the Enquirer was going to exploit it by saying they left their spouses in order to be together.
According to NY Mag, sources familiar with the private conversation say Jared Kushner and Joe Scarborough were texting in mid-April and it got ugly. Kushner told Scarborough there needed to be an apology for the negative news stories being reported about Trump or the Enquirer story would be published. Scarborough refused.
On June 5, the tabloid ran the story headlined, “Morning Joe Sleazy Cheating Scandal!”
Enquirer denies knowledge of discussions
A spokesperson for Kushner hasn't commented on the story. National Enquirer editor, Dylan Howard, says the tabloid has "no knowledge of any discussions between the White House and Joe and Mika about our story, and absolutely no involvement in those discussions.”
In the meantime, it was reported earlier this week that Jared Kushner has hired Abbe Lowell, a powerful criminal defense attorney, in the Russian probe.
Lowell has been a part of legal teams working for big-name politicians. He served as chief minority counsel for the Democrats when former President Bill Clinton was facing impeachment. Lowell has also been retained by well-known senators, such as Robert Torricelli and John Edwards. Additionally, he has represented Goldman Sachs.
