1/15/2018

CHINA/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP FAMILY/JARED KUSNER: “U.S. counterintelligence officials in early 2017 warned Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, that Wendi Deng Murdoch, a prominent Chinese-American businesswoman, could be using her close friendship with Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, to further the interests of the Chinese government, according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. officials have also had concerns about a counterintelligence assessment that Ms. Murdoch was lobbying for a high-profile construction project funded by the Chinese government in Washington, D.C., one of these people said…
The counterintelligence officials didn’t provide Mr. Kushner with details about their assessment of Ms. Murdoch, the people familiar with the interaction said. The warning was part of an effort by national-security officials to highlight to Mr. Kushner, who was new to government, the need to be careful in his dealings with people whose interests may not align with those of the U.S., the people added. Ms. Trump, who in late March announced she would take a formal White House role, wasn’t present for the counterintelligence warning. Neither Ms. Murdoch, Mr. Kushner nor Ms. Trump has been accused of any wrongdoing.
It is common for counterintelligence officials to warn senior members of a new administration about interactions with people with foreign connections, and such briefings sometimes refer to specific people, according to people familiar with the protocols.”

-Kate O’Keeffe and Aruna Viswanatha, “U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 15, 2018 05:33pm