Trump has Evidenced a Disturbing Pattern of Trying to Run a Shadow Foreign Policy — Outside of Normal Government Channels
Trump has on many occasions been running a shadow foreign policy outside of regular government channels and contrary to U.S. interests.
Shadow Foreign Policy With Flynn & Kushner
If you remember, Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner had several calls with the Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislak, in an attempt to set up a “back channel” of communication so as to work outside of normal government channels. Jared Kushner admitted that he was trying to set up private back channel communications with Moscow, but said that his motives were innocent.
• There were several calls between Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., and Trump campaign officials Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn prior to Election Day, according to Reuters. * * *
• Kushner and Flynn secretly met with Kislyak in Trump Tower on December 1, 2016. Last spring the Washington Post reported that Kushner proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities in the U.S. to establish a back channel for communication between the Trump transition and the Russian government. U.S. intelligence intercepted Kislyak describing the request to his superiors.
Kushner told Congress that Kislyak raised the idea, saying he wanted to convey information from his “generals” about the Syrian civil war, but needed a secure line. Kushner said he suggested going through the Russian embassy * * *:
I believed developing a thoughtful approach on Syria was a very high priority given the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and I asked if they had an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn. * * *
• On December 1, Kushner, Flynn, and Kislyak also talked about setting up a meeting between a Trump associate and a Russian contact, according to the Post:
In addition to their discussion about setting up the [back] communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a “Russian contact” in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
• Flynn resigned as Trump’s national-security adviser on February 13, 2017, saying he gave fellow administration officials “incomplete information” on his discussions with Kislyak regarding sanctions. On December 1, 2017, he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about those discussions during the transition, and he’s now working with Mueller.
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Shadow Foreign Policy With Erik Prince, Steve Bannon, and Lobbyist George Nadar
• * * * In April 2017, the Post reported that [the Crown Prince of the UAE] Zayed and his brother sought to help establish a back channel between Trump and Putin, and were approached by Trump associate Erik Prince:
Following the New York meeting between the Emiratis and Trump aides, Zayed was approached by Prince, who said he was authorized to act as an unofficial surrogate for the president-elect, according to the officials. He wanted Zayed to set up a meeting with a Putin associate. Zayed agreed and proposed the Seychelles as the meeting place because of the privacy it would afford both sides. “He wanted to be helpful,” one official said of Zayed.
• Erik Prince, founder of the security firm Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, had no official role in the Trump transition, but he reportedly served as an informal adviser, “providing advice to Trump’s inner circle, including his top national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn,” according to Bloomberg. He told Congress that he visited Trump Tower twice during the transition.
• On January 11, 2017, nine days before Trump’s inauguration, Prince met with Kirill Dmitriev, who runs a Kremlin-controlled wealth fund, in the Seychelles. Nader, who has known Prince for years, was reportedly at the meeting as well.
• While Mueller is said to have evidence that the purpose of the meeting was to establish a back channel between the Trump team and Russia, Prince denied that in his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in November.
• Prince claimed he flew to the Seychelles because he received a one-line invitation from Zayed’s scheduler, which said, “His Highness would like to see you if you can come out to the Seychelles.” Prince said he believed this meant they had a business proposal, but nothing specific came up during his hour-long meeting with Zayed and his associates.
Prince testified that toward the end of the meeting, the Emiratis suggested that he meet with Dmitriev, who happened to be at the hotel.
“At the end, one of the entourage says, ‘Hey, by the way, there’s this Russian guy that we’ve dealt with in the past. He’s here also to see someone from the Emirati delegation. And you should meet him, he’d be an interesting guy for you to know, since you’re doing a lot in the oil and gas and mineral space,’” Prince testified.
• Prince said he chatted with Dmitriev for about 30 minutes, discussing business and Russia’s hopes for reestablishing normal trade relations with the U.S. “I remember telling him that if Franklin Roosevelt could work with Joseph Stalin to defeat Nazi fascism, then certainly Donald Trump could work with Vladimir Putin to defeat Islamic fascism,” Prince said.
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- Erik Prince is a businessman and the brother of Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos. Prince “had relationships with various individuals associated with the Trump Campaign,” including Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., and Roger Stone.
- Kirill Dmitriev is the head of the sanctioned Russian Direct Investment Fund. Dmitriev “reported directly to Putin and frequently referred to Putin as his ‘boss.’” Dmitriev began pursuing meetings with Trump team officials soon after the election.
- Although Prince did not have a formal role on the campaign or transition, he “frequently visited transition offices at Trump Tower” and discussed foreign policy issues and recommendations for national security appointees with Bannon.
- The Seychelles meeting was arranged by George Nader, a lobbyist who has longstanding ties to Russia. Nader cooperated with the Mueller investigation and is described in the report as a “UAE national security advisor.”
- Nader bragged to Dmitriev: “[Prince] is designated by Steve Bannon to meet you!”
- Nader’s patron, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, was also in the Seychelles at the time.
- Prince and Dmitriev met twice on January 11, 2017; both times, Nader was present. Their goal was to establish a backchannel; Dmitriev was looking to “meet members of the incoming Trump administration.” The Mueller report redacted much of the information about these meetings.
- Prince texted Bannon twice from the Seychelles after the meetings, but neither of the men could produce these texts for investigators and both claimed to not know where the texts went.
- Bannon and Prince have conflicting stories about the meetings. Prince led Nader to believe that Bannon knew about the meeting in advance, which Bannon denied. After the meeting, Prince told Nader he would debrief Bannon “and would convey that someone within the Russian power structure was interested in seeking better relations with the incoming Administration.”
- Prince claims to have later briefed Bannon on the meeting, but Bannon denies this.
- Prince later described these meetings to Congress “as a chance encounter,” leading Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff to accuse Prince of “knowingly and willfully” lying to Congress. Prince has denied doing so.
Trump has attempted to run our government with a shadow foreign policy because he knows that he is acting against US interests and has to do so outside of regular government channels. This is a disturbing pattern of behavior. We need to more clearly connect this pattern of behavior.