Tillerson says Kushner left him in dark on conversations with foreign leaders
WASHINGTON — In newly disclosed testimony, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, operated independently with powerful leaders around the world without coordination with the State Department, leaving Tillerson out of the loop and in the dark on emerging U.S. policies and simmering geopolitical crises.
In a transcript of his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tillerson also described the challenge of briefing a president who does not read briefing papers and often got distracted by peripheral topics, noting he had to keep his message short and focus on a single topic.
“I learned to be much more concise with what I wanted to bring in front of him,” Tillerson told the panel during a seven-hour session last month.
He stood by his previous characterization that Trump does not dive deep into details and said he learned not to give the president articles or long memos. “That’s just not what he was going to do,” Tillerson said.
A redacted transcript of the meeting was released Thursday.
On several occasions, Tillerson said, he was blindsided by Kushner’s discussions with world leaders.
In one instance, Tillerson said, he learned that Kushner was meeting with Mexico’s foreign secretary because he happened to be in the same Washington restaurant; the two men hashed out a “fairly comprehensive plan of action” that Tillerson didn’t know about.
“The owner of the restaurant … came around and said, “Oh, Mr. Secretary, you might be interested to know the foreign secretary of Mexico is seated at a table near the back in case you want to go by and say hello to him,” Tillerson said. “And so I did.”
Tillerson said he saw the “color go out of the face” of the foreign secretary as he walked into the room. “I said: Welcome to Washington. … Give me a call next time you’re coming to town.”
In another instance, Tillerson explained in detail being surprised by the 2017 Persian Gulf crisis in which key Arab allies severed ties with Qatar, another key U.S. ally. He said he was in Australia at the time with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and that both were caught off guard.
“I was surprised,” Tillerson said.
He also said he was not aware of meetings that had been occurring between Arab leaders and Kushner, including a private meeting May 20, 2017, between Kushner, Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon and the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “What’s your reaction to a meeting of that sort having taken place without your knowledge?” Tillerson was asked by committee staff.
“It makes me angry,” Tillerson said. “Because I didn’t have a say. The State Department’s views were never expressed.”
Tillerson said he asked Kushner to stop making trips overseas without consulting with the U.S. Embassy or the State Department.
“On occasion, the president’s senior adviser would make trips abroad and … was in charge of his own agenda,” Tillerson said.
Tillerson declined to answer questions about whether he expressed the sentiment that the president was a “moron,” as publicly reported.
“We really should move on,” Tillerson attorney Reg Brown said when asked about the report. Asked again, Brown said, “We’re ready to move on.”