I saw this story pop up around midnight that, if verified by other sources - including one of the new whistleblowers they’re reporting a source told them had nothing to do with the Ukraine saga - would explain Trump’s sudden withdrawal of U.S. forces in Syria and puts a target squarely on Jared Kushner’s back for providing the opening to Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in October of last year.

It would also expose a U.S. president as having been blackmailed by another head of state into abandoning our Syrian Kurdish allies to protect his son-in-law.

The UK’s Daily Mail released this story at midnight based on an article that was published late last night in the Spectator, published by the owners of the UK’s The Daily Telegraph.

The Spectator has a paywall, but you may be able to read the full article once.

I hope it isn’t true.

And I say that because I hate the thought that a U.S. president’s closest advisor, a U.S. citizen and WH employee, gave the green light to a WP reporter’s (Khashoggi’s) arrest, especially if it led to Khashoggi’s brutal murder.

You may recall that Washington Post reporter, Jamal Khashoggi, a staunch human rights activist and once friend-turned critic of the ruling Saudi royal family, was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi embassy in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2018.

The Central Intelligence Agency and other Western governments believe that Saudi Crown Prince and friend of Jared Kushner, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), ordered Khashoggi’s killing.

Khashoggi was a legal resident of the U.S., educated at Indiana University, with children who are U.S. citizens, and was seeking to become a U.S. citizen himself when he was murdered.

Jared Kushner gave permission to Saudi ruler Mohammad bin Salman to arrest Jamal Khashoggi before he was killed and dismembered, a whistleblower claims. However, Turkish intelligence intercepted the call and President Recep Erdogan then used the information to force President Trump to remove his troops from northern Syria, according to the Spectator.

You may also recall that Trump announced in December 2018, 2 months after Khashoggi’s murder, that he was pulling U.S. forces out of Syria. That didn’t go over well.

Trump calls withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria ‘no surprise’ amid mounting backlash John Wagner Dec. 20, 2018 at 1:29 p.m. CST www.washingtonpost.com/...

The report also mentions that a source also told the writer at the Spectator that there are 4 NEW whistleblowers, including one whose reported events have nothing to do with the Ukraine saga. It’s possible. The attorney representing the initial, unnamed Ukraine whistleblower has stated he is representing “multiple whistleblowers.”

The report claims that investigators on the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee are aware of these allegations and are planning to dig further into them while pursuing the impeachment inquiry over Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. It also claims that the number of intelligence whistleblowers who are willing to give evidence to the impeachment committee is seven. The three already known are the original anonymous CIA officer, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Tim Morrison, the NSC’s director for European and Russian Affairs. The Khashoggi whistleblower takes that tally up to four, meaning there are three others waiting in the wings.

If this story has legs, the open House Intelligence Committee hearings could turn out to contain the most explosive charges ever leveled against a sitting president and his family, or a government official in any capacity, when you consider the aftershocks the alleged phone calls between Kushner with MBS and Trumpphone and Erdogan set in motion.

Again, I hope this story isn’t true. If it is, it’s horrifying. We’ll have to see if any other sources confirm this story over the next couple of weeks.

UPDATE:

I shared this story — that I thought no one would see at 2:45 am CST — simply because it was intriguing and, based on past stories from many sources including the WP, NYT, Newsweek and others since Khashoggi’s murder, seems possible.

Having been a news junkie since I was a young paperboy, I value credible journalism, and continue to be a voracious reader of factual news reporting from credible news organizations. I would never knowingly spread a CT here or anywhere. This new story just happened to pop up in a news feed and had enough pieces that connect — with the Kushner-MBS history, the Syrian troop withdrawal (including last year’s attempt by Trump), whistleblowers, and known WH malfeasance to date — that I considered it shareable, with obvious caveats.

Jared Kushner Still Defended Saudi Crown Prince After Khashoggi Murder, After 'Friends' Exchanged Text Messages for 2 Years: Report www.newsweek.com/...

Trump’s unsuccessful attempt to withdraw from Syria 2 months after Khashoggi’s murder in October 2018.

December 2018:

Trump calls withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria ‘no surprise’ amid mounting backlash www.washingtonpost.com/...

I love the DKos community and have been a participant here for many years. I value everyone’s opinions and respect your right to your own opinions, whatever they may be. Thank you.