President Trump, Ivanka and Jared Kushner talk with German Chancellor Angela in 2017, They’ve been invisible in the latest controversy. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Ivanka and Jared Kushner have virtually gone underground in recent weeks, a possible sign of the seriousness of President Donald Trump’s alleged crimes and effort to cover them up.
The couple’s absence from social media, or any attempt to defend the president in public, appears calculated, suggesting they are steering clear of the controversy to avoid being implicated in the president’s growing quagmire.
Their no show in defense of the president is even more curious given Jared Kushner’s wide-ranging involvement in foreign affairs on behalf of the president.
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Kushner is supposedly working behind-the-scenes with White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to develop an impeachment strategy.
While some said Kushner was in charge of the strategy, others said Mulvaney is at the helm, according to CNN.
But at least one senior White House adviser disputed that view. “Of course he’s important, but in no way is he running this,” the administration official said.
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The President and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani have largely been leading the impeachment counter-narrative, along with Republican allies in Congress.
Some White House allies, largely on Capitol Hill, believe they have hurt their own cause by constantly shifting the narrative or making statements that are hard to defend, CNN reported, citing administration officials and sources close to the White House.
Although the more reason to call on Ivanka to soften the president’s image and defend her father’s “morals,” from which she claims her own.
While Ivanka has been ghosted, Jared has been more visible.
Jared Kushner is pictured at the EU Independence Day Dinner. On his right is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo: U.S. Mission to European Union)
Kushner was given wide authority by the president to act as an informal foreign policy adviser. He’s visited with foreign leaders around the world on missions that would normally be reserved for the Secretary of State.
His lack of visibility is odd, given Kushner clearly had some interaction with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky amid the unfolding scandal.
They were photographed sitting together at a diplomatic dinner with European leaders about seven weeks before Trump’s admonishment to Zelensky to investigate the Bidens, Newsweek reported.
The photo was published on a photo-sharing site by the U.S. Mission to the European Union to note the EU’s Independence Day Dinner on June 4.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and U.S. State Department Counselor, Ulrich Brechbuhl were also at the dinner. Perry just announced his resignation effective in November. Brechbuhl was reported to be on the July 25 phone conversation, according to the whistleblower’s report.
A host of other U.S. officials were also at the dinner.
Perry was thrust into the spotlight because he led the U.S. delegation to Zelensky’s May 28 inauguration. Vice President Mike Pence was supposed to go, but Trump ordered him to cancel his trip, according to the whistleblower.
Trump also refused to meet with the Ukrainian president until he saw how he “chose to act” in office.
The scandal revolves around Trump’s order to block desperately needed military aid to Ukraine about one week before his July 25 phone, setting up an alleged quid-pro-quo. The presidential pressured Zelensky to investigate his chief political rival Joe Biden.
A series of text messages between U.S. diplomats that have surfaced since then provide further evidence that the president was angling to get an investigation in exchange for the military aid.
It’s not the first time Ivanka and Jared have ducked presidential controversies.
In August, during a critical week of controversy over the economy, inflammatory conspiracy tweets, gun legislation debate and a snub of Denmark’s prime minister over Greenland, the couple was off vacationing in Wyoming.
Early in his administration, there were selective leaks suggesting Ivanka disagreed with her father on certain statements or policy positions. But so far, nothing has surfaced involving the latest controversy.
You can check out a complete timeline here.